


Ode to the Night

by roxy55



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anxiety, BillDip, Demon Bill Cipher, Deviates From Canon, Human Bill Cipher, Lore Wise Deviation, Lots of anxiety, M/M, Maybe fluff, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Weirdmageddon, Tags Are Hard, The Pines Parents - Freeform, a few OC's - Freeform, mostly angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-07-19 11:04:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7358668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxy55/pseuds/roxy55
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starting with the twins being stolen away from the mundane days of school, Bill offers a deal to Dipper. Having the demon wrapped around his finger, they reside in Gravity Falls while a new threat slowly approaches to make itself known. With Bill battling his newfound weak state, it is a race for time as he struggles to recover from the constant attacks of the people and his not so new enemy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Dipper sat in Physics while Mabel was a few hallways down, brows scrunched together as she hunched over her Pre-Calculus work. It was the simplicity of school that had consumed them until summer came around again. Really it couldn’t be helped when they had their friends and school provided homework, tests, and activities to occupy them. Gravity Falls was rarely on their minds until finals had come to a close and their parents looked to purchase their tickets while urging them to pack plenty for the long trip. However, still being in the middle of the school year neither of the twins had the small town or its inhabitants on their mind. That of course didn’t matter, as it seemed Gravity Falls couldn’t wait for summer once more. So they sat unassuming, and when they were told to get against the wall while the lights were turned off and hushed frantically it didn’t cross Dipper’s nor Mabel’s mind that this was their fault. 

At first everyone thought it was another one of those silly drills they did once in awhile where they were practicing as if an intruder was in the building. Except this time there was a real person stalking the school. Nobody dared to figure out where the person may be looking, but fear still struck their bones because it was a Wednesday afternoon and that man/woman likely had some common sense. So, the entire school was silent. 

The intruder made it no secret that he was occupying the school, pushing the front doors open with little finesse and his flashy appearance made a scene. He fashioned a white button up and slacks all covered in someone's blood, it could have been his own but there was no way to know. No cops were sweeping the front of the building, yet. He raised an eyebrow at this and gave an exaggerated shrug before humming in delight when discovering the door plaque that read the principal and vice principal’s names. Shoes clicked through the deathly quiet halls, and the intruder sauntered into the office. 

“Dear, sweet Principal Maghes I would appreciate it if you would step forward. I have a favor to ask.” His voice was harsh against the silence. Except it was easy for him to hear the several sources of breathing, it was just a matter of finding the Principal or really any idiot who could make an announcement to the school. 

Eyes scanning the room, he walked the few steps between him and the desk that was hiding three people and gave a pitying frown. “I see you down there, no use hiding.” The man’s voice could best be described as grating and frustrated, but exhaustion became evident when met with his tired eyes. “Which one of you know how to make an announcement to the entire school? Not a single room can miss this.” 

A young woman stood from her squat and while she tried to appear strong her knees quivered as she stood, waving her hand once before speaking. “I can do it, but what do you want?” She had quickly eyed him over before asking the question and noticed he didn’t have a weapon in hand. To her she could have assumed he was cocky enough to think he didn’t need one yet even with the cops likely on their way to the front of the school. Already someone still shrunk away in a corner had notified the constable that he was in the office. 

That wouldn’t matter for him, he never has used these human weapons before and wouldn’t start now. Good old magic would the trick, a snap of the finger and the needed person could be killed as needed. Right now the man had an itch to light the entire school on fire, but they didn’t need to know that and the twins still sat somewhere in the school so it was really a no-can-do to set anything on fire. Unless it was a person, that could fly. 

“I want you to make an announcement for Sh- Mabel and Dipper Pines to come to the front with their stuff, they’ll be leaving with me.” A smile stretched across his face despite the eeriness of the situation. Interacting with humans wasn’t his strong suit. 

The only one standing, and his little helper, faltered where she stood and from there it was apparent that this wasn’t going to be as simple as he thought. It seemed she was being a little too human for his liking, but it’s hard to avoid. Still with some persuasion she pressed the broadcast button and spoke to the entire school, interrupting the silence and likely the terror of everyone in the school. 

“Can Mabel and Dipper Pines come to the front?” 

Each twin reacted differently when they heard their name over the announcement, it was hard for them to understand but in the end they didn’t hide. 

Whoever was down there had come looking for them specifically. So, Dipper was intent on investigating like the detective he is and stands, gives his teacher a sad smile, and grabs his bag. There was a delay given that his teacher was gripping to him and trying to keep him from leaving. Only when an officer opened the door did his teacher let go and watched him walk away. He wasn’t afraid, or rather he wasn’t going to show it. At the closing of the door that teacher crumbled beneath herself and only one or two students were able to comfort her while the rest hid for safety. 

Mabel however was less composed and it was hard to help. One of her friends sat at her side and gripped tightly to her arm when she started to stand. She wouldn’t let go, but Mabel knew she would have to go because it could save all the people in this classroom and possibly the rest of the school. Her knees wobbled with each step and when Mabel reached the desks her hand pressed to the surface and they provided some leverage for stability. Two officers opened the door and with a grim smile Mabel left with little argument, it was the flow of tears that were hard to contain. The twins met at the stairs, unintentionally, despite knowing where each of their classrooms were and walked behind their entourage of police officers. The sight of large artillery seemed to frighten Mabel as she moved to grab onto Dipper while doing her best not to break down and cry. If by the end of the day both the twins got home to their parents it would be considered a miracle by the two of them. 

The halls were deathly empty with most of the lights turned off and not a soul in sight until they stepped foot at the front of the school. The culprit walked out of the office, of course not without leverage of holding the entire front office staff hostage. He gave out a cackle and hugged onto the woman who had made the announcement, neither of the twins knew that though. All the group could assume is that he’s terrorizing that poor woman and when there is an opening that man will be shot down. 

“Shooting Star! Pine Tree! Glad to see you, except I can’t see you behind your scary soldiers. Why don’t you step out from there and properly greet an old friend.” He had his arm now draped around the woman and a tired grin sat on his face. Dipper took Mabel’s hand and the two walked around the officers to meet the gaze of the stranger. 

Mabel didn’t recognize the man at all and that elicited some confusion, even Dipper found himself squinting his eyes and trying recall the face. Except the man in front of them was not a man and had never inhabited this form before, instead it would take thinking real hard for one of the two to figure out who he was. 

And it clicked. “Bill?” Dipper was the one to speak and with that pushed Mabel further back, he could still vividly remember the weirdness bubble that captured his sister and his fight through the apocalypse which was brought on at Bill’s hand. The young man shouted this time, “You all have to get out of here now! He’s dangerous and there’s no telling what he can or will do, bullets won’t do a thing!” 

Dipper’s outburst only had the demon cackling until he was buckling over with laughter, it was an easy way to mask the pain after all. Neither twin had noticed the blood oozing from his side as they would likely assume that blood belonged to some other poor human. Technically it did, it belonged to the vessel. But the vessel belonged to the demon and therefore he was the one losing blood and quick. 

Guns were suddenly pointed at the demon despite the many humans standing behind him, but none of them dared to move. Bill knew he was doing his job right because of the scene before him. 

“Now, now no need for that. Dipper’s not wrong.” None of the men moved an inch. Bill frowned and removed his arm from the woman, with that the entire crowd behind him fled to the office and right before the guns were likely to shoot Bill snapped. “If you’ll excuse us the twins and I need to talk.” 

The demon and the two twins were consumed in blue flame, but when it subsided there wasn’t a trace of them ever being there. 

Half an hour later the school was evacuated and the police flooded the school. News reporters took each corner of the school outside to grab the latest and broadcast it to the world. A few miles down what is left of the Pines family is watching the news in despair, having received a phone call twenty minutes ago it is settling now for the adults. They did call a detective when the news was spread across local channels as it was a travesty and everyone would now be told to keep a watch. The police would be on edge because certainly they couldn’t have gotten far. But, not one detective nor the entire police force would find the twins until they were allowed to be found. 

In the back of everyone’s mind the idea itched away, would the Pines twins be found alive?


	2. Chapter 1

The fire didn’t feel like anything. Dipper would have thought nothing had happened, maybe he blacked out for a moment or Bill was messing with his head were it not for the change of surroundings. His hands still tightly gripped at Mabel as they found themselves in the middle of a forest. It was difficult to get his bearings but when he did Dipper stood straight and glared at the dream demon in front of him. 

“What the hell was that, Bill?” After years of believing the demon was dead it was hard to know how treat him. There was still fear and a lack of understanding, and it wasn’t that he’d forgotten what the demon did to them but something was different. 

Bill grinned, stumbled, and then fell to the ground leaving Dipper dumbstruck and Mabel, out of confusion, was able to gather herself and stop crying. He watched as the demon moved to something close of a sitting position, not really minding his appearance. “Kid, I wasn’t going to wait for your merry little asses to haul all the way to Gravity Falls in the summer. I’m not patient.” He couldn’t help but flinch back when the demon raises a hand, expecting some other trick or for the demon to lash back, only that the demon grinned and wiped sweat and blood from his forehead. “I need to make a deal, unless you’re willing to offer your services free of charge.” When the demon’s arms begin to shake he pushes himself against a near tree and grunts loudly. “How about it?” 

Mabel takes this as her initiative to step in, “No. We are not making a deal with this demon ever again, you’ve seen where it’s gotten us before.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and met his eyes making it clear she was sticking with her decision. 

Rolling his shoulders away from Mabel’s hand he couldn’t help but let curiosity lead him rather than logic. “What is it you want from us?” If it wasn’t an end all situation they could ask questions in turn for a favor. It wouldn’t be the worse, because knowing that Bill is now not only alive but possessing a physical form he needed to know what was going on. 

Tilting his head to the side Bill’s grin somehow widens. “For now all I want is some help healing me, it shouldn’t take more than some human tactics and a little magic to seal the deal. Don’t worry, I’ll teach one of you that part.” 

It was the ‘for now’ that caught Dipper’s attention as that held the ability for Bill to tact more onto the deal later. That wouldn’t work, he would have to change the deal himself. “Okay. So if we help you get better I want you to answer any questions I have honestly. Deal?” 

Bill frowned at this and Dipper knew he probably wouldn’t take the deal. Shifting to a position which was far more defensive with Mabel behind him, it was hard to help, he watched the demon carefully now. Though he couldn’t understand how Bill was injured or why he wasn’t able to heal himself in the first place, Dipper knew he was telling the truth by the puddle of blood that pooled at the man’s waist and soon enough would stain his pale hand. “It looks like your life depends on this one Bill, it’s not like you’re going to be hanging around us twenty-four seven.” Dipper sticks out his hand. “Just do it.” This causes the demon to let out a haughty laugh, taking him off guard, and seconds later Bill lunges forward to meet hands. Blue flames consume both their hands, and while Dipper will never get used to seeing the flame and feeling nothing he found himself haunted more by Bill’s laugh and tight grip. 

And seconds later it was silent, it was sealed. 

“I can’t take us anywhere safe, my juice is all out since I’m sustaining living conditions and transported us outta state. So if you wouldn’t mind,” Bill offers his hand again with a smirk instead. Dipper doesn’t stop from rolling his eyes before tugging Bill, having much needed help from Mabel, and draping his weight between the two twins. 

“Mystery shack?” Mabel looks to Dipper from underneath Bill and he can’t help but huff at the suggestion. There’s no telling where they are, hopefully close to Gravity Falls, and even if they find their way they would be explaining why they’re here in the middle of February. He can only nod, there was no way he was taking Bill to his actual home and if there was even a smidgen of a chance Ford was there they would hopefully get help with Bill. 

Nothing could be seen through the trees yet which wasn’t giving Dipper much hope, but Bill was quick to speak up when Mabel gave the suggestion of the Mystery Shack. “There’s a road probably a half mile ahead, it should lead to Gravity Falls.” Dipper could only hope that either they would find someone who could drive them there or that they were close enough to the shack that Bill would stay alive during the long trek. Letting his head hang forward and shifting around the twins the demon speaks with whimsy, “Oh I do hope Sixer will be waiting for me, haven’t seen the old geezer in a while.” Despite Bill’s high spirits, only evident in the way he spoke, Dipper couldn’t help but be chilled by the tremors Bill’s body emitted and how tightly Bill had to grip at his shoulder to have a sliver of balance. This man-demon-whatever he was right now, his life depended on them. 

Even Dipper stood unsteadily after what felt like miles of walking, but they now approached the road and a sign stood, directing their way to Gravity Falls. Finally. There didn’t seem to be much of any traffic coming their way, but for now it was hard to care when Dipper was happy enough with their first victory of knowing where they are. At first Dipper doubted that any car might find them, let alone stop to help, until a black SUV drew close and slowed to a stop. It was a miracle, Dipper almost believed that Bill was behind it. 

“Mabel, Dipper what are y’all doing here?” It was Gideon who rolled down his window and stopped for them. He didn’t have time to process that the kid didn’t look like a kid anymore or that he wasn’t in school right now like they were-before this. 

“Can you drive us to the Mystery Shack? This is an emergency.” Mabel knew to throw the question out because if Gideon would listen to anyone it would be her. It wasn’t so much asking as it was imposing on the poor kid. Mabel was quick to open the door and Dipper went in while holding the demon by his shoulders and soon enough he sat against the door with Bill leaning against him. When Mabel settled at the floor of the car she went quickly to put pressure on the only obvious wound. 

“Mystery Shack. Thanks. Go.” She didn’t really acknowledge the shock from Gideon and neither did Dipper, he was busy worrying over Bill. 

Wordlessly Gideon moved from staring at the twins to driving at full speed down the road and most likely to the Mystery Shack. Dipper would be more than happy to hit Gideon up the side of the head if he dared bring them to a hospital. That probably wouldn’t work for Bill. Despite frantic driving Gideon still fit in two questions, “Who is that? Why am I not taking him to the hospital?” It was reasonable queries. 

Finding an answer to those questions was harder, if they said something wrong it might stop Gideon in his tracks and right now they didn’t need that. Giving Bill a good glare he looks up to Gideon and gives a lie. “He’s a friend from out of town, and we really just need you to take us to the shack. I’m not sure the hospital could help him anyways.” Well the last part was not a lie, despite Bill hinting that they would be using some normal medicinal practices. 

To his surprise Gideon didn’t question him any further and Bill didn’t say anything to counter his lie. In fact, Bill was starting to look worse. 

For the first time Dipper was able to get a really good look at the newly human body that is Bill’s, he shouldn’t be possessing a vessel because otherwise this wouldn’t be a problem. Blond hair was slick with sweat and matted with blood, sticking to a heated forehead. Though Bill appeared to have a tan complexion normally, it was easy to tell that the demon’s face was especially pale now. His brown eyes barely looked brown as exhaustion seemed to take over most expression. With each sharp turn or speed bump they hit Dipper saw the pain break through. There was no more amusement or energy radiating from the demon, he looked sickly, as he was, close to death. 

Bill was wearing a white button up and slacks, nothing over the top as expected. It was the growing red patch on his shirt held Dipper’s attention. Mabel’s hands had been pressed against the wound underneath since they found themselves in the car. From the splattered blood to Bill’s poor condition, he couldn’t help but wonder if there were more injuries. It was hard to say and even when asking the demon he got no response, Bill was completely out of it. 

All he could do was rest his hands at the demon’s neck for support and hope that they were close to the shack. 

At some point Dipper had lost himself in Bill and simply fear as he hadn’t noticed the harsh stop the car came to. Gideon had ran to open the door and Mabel was forced to move from Bill’s waist to his shoulders. Both twins worked to get the demon out of the car and to the shack. He hadn’t even thought of how they were going to explain what they were doing and who they had brought into the shack. 

With a quick thanks and apology to Gideon from Dipper they didn’t look back to the boy nor did they take in their surroundings, but instead barged through the front doors and swiftly moved for the living room. When Bill was finally laying on the couch both twins nearly collapsed from both stress and exhaustion, but there was still work to be done. 

“Mabel we need to get pressure on that wound until we can stitch him, there should be a first aid kit in the supply closet.” He huffed and puffed between each word and leaned against the couch, staring at the demon who currently was turned on his side to face the cushions and making small sounds of distress. 

Standing, wobbly on his feet, Dipper moved to hold Bill down on his back so to get the bloodied shirt off and thrown away. He wasn’t gentle when he pressed down on Bill’s shoulder. It wasn’t exactly easy trying to open the shirt with his left hand but it happened and with a few tugs the shirt was off, revealing what looked to be a giant gash on Bill’s lower abdomen. 

Dipper shifted looking up and found himself eye to eye with Stan and Ford, the two standing, shoulders touching, with the same shocked expression at the Kitchen door. Quick to look for Mabel she wasn’t back yet, likely still shuffling through the mess of a supply closet for the first aid kit. 

“I can explain.” He didn’t sound as confident as he should, it was hard when Bill Cipher was laying on the couch a few feet from Ford who would shoot on sight. He glanced to the shop again, “Mabel hurry up.” His voice was audibly shaking. 

Ford took the first step forward but Stan spoke, “Kid, your parents called saying you were kidnapped. The hell are you doing here?” It was less angry and more so fearful. 

Mabel did come running through the door, paying no mind to their great uncles who were both bemused where they stood, and went to Bill’s side. It seemed like they hadn’t noticed that there was a third person there until Mabel was forcing him to sit up and Bill made a pained noise. 

Flinching Dipper looked back to Bill, this wasn’t okay. 

At seeing the demon Ford was quick to pull out a gun, he had recognized Bill despite the human form with no trouble. “Cipher, you were dead.” It was less so much a question but a statement. It was one he still didn’t have an explanation for himself. 

Bill didn’t answer, but gave a deadpan look to Ford before concentrating on Mabel and paying no mind to the two older men in the room. 

Instead Dipper took it on to stop Ford from shooting the demon and causing further damage. “Grunkle Ford he isn’t going to hurt you or anyone, he’s hurt and asked for our help. Please don’t shoot him, it’s only going to make things worse.” He knew Bill still had his powers, he just had them concentrated on staying alive and that could easily change. 

“I promise, I can explain everything once Bill is stitched up and stable.” Dipper moved back to Bill’s side and continued to ask, “You wouldn’t happen to know how to do that, would you?” He refused to look up. Really he must have a death wish, asking Ford of all people. 

Except Grunkle Stan stepped forward and offered help. “Let me do it, if Ford gets his hands on Bill he might strangle the guy first. At least I have some restraint.” That wasn’t comforting either, this situation was putting him on the edge of a break down. So Mabel stopped in her tracks of wrapping Bill’s torso and took a step back. 

It was in moments like these that Dipper wished they had painkiller stronger than advil, not only for himself but for Bill. 

Kneeling at Bill’s side he attempted to get the demon’s attention. “This isn’t going to feel good, especially on top of what you’re already feeling. I’m sorry and,” in a moment of improv Dipper moves to take off his belt, “Bite onto this and you can hold my hand, if you need.” This gesture was simple enough, but the demon was eager to comply in his delirious state. 

“Alright,” Grunkle Stan moved to sit on the table and said, “I need a needle, fishing line, ice, alcohol, scissors, gauze, a towel, and the heaviest painkillers you can find.” 

Mabel had to step out of the room when the needle first hit skin, but it wasn’t really the gore that got anyone at this point but the screams. Who knew a power hungry demon could be reduced to this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to note that I, in no way, have any official medical knowledge beyond what can be found on the internet so I'm doing my best to avoid anything to sketchy in that area... Anyhow, thanks again for reading!


	3. Chapter 2

The demon didn’t stir for the rest of the night nor for most of the next day. Dipper almost wondered if they had pushed Bill into a coma, it was a new human body that had lost too much blood. At least he assumed the body was new.

 

He was unable to convince Stan not to call his parents, despite all his pretty good arguments. Stan made it clear that there would be a national search soon if they didn’t console their parents. Dipper just couldn’t figure out how to explain this, let alone to his parents who don’t know Bill or what he is-they would never believe the truth. It was hard to come up with a lie. Out of sympathy Grunkle Stan helped concoct something to convince his parents to call off the police and just come down to visit them. It would be harder to hide the fact that their ‘captor’ was sleeping upstairs. Even harder so to make it where they weren’t stolen back to California with the deal still standing. Life outside of Gravity Falls was proving to be an inconvenience.

 

When Mabel came on the phone it was a little easier to convince their parents that everything was fine, she may have cried a little but it all turned out. Their parents would be down here in three days, and in the meantime he needed to get Bill in stable condition. In doing so he could guarantee that leaving Bill alone for an hour wouldn’t be an issue.

 

Stan forced everyone to eat breakfast when the phone calls ended and they were sure someone wouldn’t be knocking down their door for abducting two kids. For Dipper it was hard to stomach food. All he could think about was how much pain Bill looked to be in when they were driving here and those screams when Stan was stitching him up. He would have believed Bill went through torture if he wasn’t there to see it.

 

They ate in silence, and if Dipper would look up all he could see was the worry, not well hidden, on the faces before him. Saying something would be deadly, but necessary to break the silence. 

 

“Um, so I’d guess you want your explanation now?” He couldn’t help how shaky his voice had sounded or that he was near stuttering over his own words. Guilt had him flushed and refusing to look up with most attention directed to him. Silent scolding loomed over him because that is rhetorical and he shouldn’t need to ask.

 

Stan stood at the counter, placed his bowl to the side, and crossed his arms appearing uncomfortable. Ford was sat at the table across from Dipper and when he spoke his shoulders slouched while he let out a heavy sigh. Everyone was uncomfortable with the subject. Ford spoke the answer Dipper was expecting. “Yes, an explanation is due.”

 

“We, or rather I made a deal with Bill.”

 

He didn’t have a chance to go on. Ford stood, hitting his hands to the table and looked Dipper dead in the eye. “Are you insane? Have you forgotten who we’re dealing with? What did you give him?” Dipper leaned back into his chair while folding his arms around himself. Now wasn't a time to dwell even if the raised tone scared and frightened him into compliance. “Help. I promised to help him heal, he just wanted some help getting back to normal. As normal as he can be, at least.”

 

Ford’s stair didn’t falter. He didn’t want to touch on the fact that Bill was going to need magic at some point to get better, but maybe that won’t be important. “What do you plan on telling your parents? If they see the same man who kidnapped you sleeping on the couch they’ll never let you near us or Gravity Falls again.”

 

This he at least knew the answer to, it was easy for now. “Not the truth, we’ll move Bill from the living room and if they even come to the shack then they won’t see him. I’ll come up with a reason to why we won’t go back to California yet, but chances are we can’t break the deal no matter how weak Bill is.”

 

“Let’s just be glad they’re here Ford.” It was then that Stan moved from where before he stood passive. “Imagine they ended up somewhere we couldn’t watch them. This gives us an opportunity to make sure they’re safe, and we can keep Bill out of trouble while he’s here. Maybe this will go on long enough for you to figure something out to stop the demon from whatever he’s planning. This could have been much worse and you know it.”

 

He wasn’t wrong. It was a thought he pushed away since they shook hands and made the deal. Bill could have tricked them and killed them on the spot or taken them somewhere no one would find them. But, here they were and Bill was real in the sense that he was just as reliant on them as they had been on him.

 

With that a thought struck Dipper, “Even if he has a plan we’ll know before anything happens. Part of the deal is that Bill will answer any questions I have without lying. With the state he’s in I’d imagine his resilience won’t be up to measure. We’re the ones keeping him alive after all.”

 

He didn’t get a response, Ford had his eyes to the door and then it was clear why it went silence. Bill stood at the door. Or rather he leaned all his weight against the doorway, and took this as his moment to interrupt. “I was trying to sleep, but you all are creating quite the ruckus.” Blood blotted through his bandage and both hands gripped at the frame. if Bill wasn’t shaking profusely he could have appeared confident or intimidating in nature

 

Mabel didn’t let him talk any longer before she ran and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Bill you shouldn’t be up so soon, you might tear your stitches. Here, come sit if you want to be in here.” She guided him to the kitchen table, pushed him down into the seat, and gave him a pointed glare. Crossing her arms across her chest she refused to look at him now, “How are you feeling?”

 

It didn’t surprise Dipper that Mabel was worrying. He even found himself concerned with how long Bill had slept and now still looked like the living dead. 

 

“Just fantastic.” He didn’t smile and the grate in his voice was articulate enough. “Of course I still feel shitty, and it’s only going to get worse. But for now I’d like to use this grace period to address the elephant in the room since you seem to be doing so without me.”

 

No one was quick to respond with Bill in the room, looking deathly sick for that matter. Knowing that with enough power a snap could kill anyone in this room was stunning. Dipper would like to believe that he and Mabel are under the deal and thus, so safe. At the same time they wouldn’t stand by and watch their family endangered. With Bill’s appearance and lethargic movements it was hard to believe he would do anything. When this came to a close he would make sure to try and get Bill to eat. Maybe it would lessen some symptoms- blood loss affecting Bill as a human, not as the demon he is.

 

“How long are you going to be here?” Stan said. It almost surprised Dipper until he remembered Stan has dealt with Ford and his escapades. Even if he didn't enjoy anything supernatural, it enjoyed his company. Stan had his own quarrels with Bill and was most likely ready to sock the demon in the teeth if this was going to be an issue.

 

“As long as it takes, Fez, and as much as I hate to admit like I said before it’s not going to get any better.”

 

“What do you mean when you say that? How are you going to get worse?” Ford stole the question before he got it out, but cutting his interactions with the demon short was fine by him. “No one’s here to attack you, not with us here so I don’t see how it’s going to get worse.” 

 

Bill laughed but it didn’t last before he hunched over and held at his side, maybe the demon shouldn’t be put through this much stress. “This isn’t something you can stop, part of it being that this is the first human body that belongs to me. So to say, I’m adapting and it’s going to take a toll on me in addition to a parasite that I have following me around.” He spoke with clear disgust and it almost seemed like his eyes centered in on something they didn’t see, but it only lasted a second before Ford spoke again.

 

“If you put my family in any danger the deal is off. This is more than generous and the only reason you are here is because Dipper and Mabel are much more merciful than me.” It looked as if Grunkle Ford was ready to spit at the demon’s feet and walk off, though it never happened Dipper could feel the hatred radiate off Ford.

 

“That won’t be a problem, I’ll deal with my own demons when they come for me.” Bill smirked and leaned back in his seat once more.

 

That didn’t seem to please Ford. “If we can help it I want someone watching this demon at all times when he is under our roof. Dipper, I’m going to write down some questions I want you to ask Bill in order to determine if he’s dangerous.” Ford spoke as if Bill wasn’t there, but that wasn’t surprising- he hardly wanted to let the demon live.

 

Dipper gives a small nod but doesn’t say anything in response, for there was nothing to say and he wasn’t going to argue against the idea. He knew Ford would refuse the responsibility of watching Bill. Without question it would belong to him and Mabel exclusively.

 

Ford is the first to leave on that note, but Stan hesitates and says, “Are the three of you going to be okay? I can’t say whether Ford is going to be available for the rest of today but I will be in the other room if needed. Do not hesitate.” Stanley gives an unsure glance to Bill before leaving the kitchen.

 

And so it was Mabel, Bill, and him alone in the kitchen.

 

With the intention of checking on the demon, Dipper moves to sit in the closest chair to Bill and leans to meet Bill’s eyes. “Bill, you look like you’re half out of it.” He speaks to Mabel this time, “He’s really pale, probably from blood loss. Why don’t you see if there’s something light he can eat, maybe it’ll help?” God he’s still breaking a sweat and that means a fever. This soon it shouldn’t mean infection and that’s what matters.

 

Without lifting the bandage Dipper knew the wound would still be swollen red, and from the look of Bill’s facials it still caused him plenty of pain. Standing, Dipper puts a hand to Bill’s shoulder for just a moment while walking away. “Let me grab you a few things.” First Dipper goes to make an ice bag as that swelling wouldn’t be going down on it’s own. Not bothering to wrap the bag in paper towel, Dipper found irony in the notion that Bill no longer thought pain was hilarious.

 

He ended up coming back with a cold rag, the ice bag, and the first blanket he could find. If Bill was suffering from fever then he was likely cold. “Try and lay back a little, we want to try and keep this rag on your forehead.” Folding it Dipper presses it on with careful hands, walks around to put the ice over the wound while muttering a ‘hold this,’ and finally wrapping the demon in the blanket. “These should help you a bit.”

 

Mabel had long since walked in and placed a plate of bland crackers. She couldn’t help but comment, “What the mom you are Dipper.” She chuckles a little and it lightens the mood for a second.

 

Bill still seemed miserable and maybe somewhat overwhelmed, but Dipper could say this should do the job.

 

They doted on Bill for another thirty minutes before the demon fell asleep, by some miracle they had gotten the demon to eat, and now they could finally take a moment to relax.

 

“I wonder if we took on more than we can handle?” Dipper looks to Mabel but doesn’t show any real emotion, he doesn’t know how to feel about Bill.

 

“I think we did the right thing.”

 

Dipper falls asleep and Mabel smiles, sits, and watches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the comments and kudos have been my fuel, thank you thank you thank you! Expect an update fairly quick~ These chapters have been short which is bugging me, I'll be happy to get to the good stuff.. there's a lot to come :)


	4. Chapter 3

Waking up Dipper gave himself a mental beating knowing he fell asleep next to Bill Cipher, a dream demon that still could pose a threat. It would have sent him into panic if it weren’t for his sister not far off who stopped and talked him through it, and by sheer luck he didn’t fall from his chair upon waking. It did little good to think back on the dream, better described as a nightmare, which startled him awake in the first place. For now he would ignore it until Mabel might push the confession out.

“Hey Dipping Sauce, if you’re feeling up to it I wanna move Bill at least to the couch if not to a proper bed. I don’t know when our parents are gonna get here and it’s better safe than sorry. Plus he’ll thank us later when he doesn’t have a crick in his neck.”

He chuckles a little, but in the back of his mind Dipper still feels weary about all of this. Rubbing his eyes, standing, and stretching he gives a tired answer, “Yeah you’re right, no telling when they’ll get here.” Pausing he looks to the dream demon. “Now how are we going to do this?”

First Dipper makes sure to take off the, now not so cold, wet rag and set aside the ice bag that seemed to make the area of Bill’s wound shine bright red. Huffing, somewhat disturbed at the image before him, Dipper makes his move to shift the demon and picks him up all on his own. Bill should not be this easy to pick up.

“Wow, looks like you’ve got it handled Mr. Strong Man.” Mabel jokes as Dipper makes sure he has a good grip on the demon and scrunches his face in concentration.

“Just be my spot, will you?”

Quickly he found out that taking smaller steps made things easy on his back, and reminding himself that Mabel was right behind him was both a blessing and a curse on the steep stairs of the shack. Though being prudent made things go slow he made it with no slip ups and Bill didn’t wake up, which could also be a reason to worry. Dipper was almost tempted to check for a pulse if he hadn’t seen the rise and fall of Bill’s chest.

“We need to change his bandages before tonight.” Dipper didn’t let his eyes wander from the demon as if there was something he was looking for. Maybe it was that it felt unnatural to see the demon sleep.

The silence between them didn’t last long, Mabel standing at the door while he stood looking down on Bill, with curiosity, who shifted onto his side. When Bill awoke he didn’t startle or spring from where he rested as Dipper had downstairs, but experienced the same amount of terror. Bill’s hand moved to grip at his hair and his eyes held fear with wide eyes, making him wonder just what could make the demon this terrified?

“I can’t see.” Now that’s not what he expected. It came out quiet, but Dipper heard it and almost wondered if he heard wrong.

“What?” That was all he could manage out, more confused than scared while coming to terms with what was said.

“I can’t see I can’t see I can’t see I can’t-” He didn’t stop rambling off the same three words and that made Dipper spring into action, moving to kneel at the bedside and try to reach the delirious demon.

“Hey, listen to me Bill. I’m right here, you’re joking right?” He was at a loss for what to say, something he found common around Bill. “You can’t see anything?”

“No, no, no. That’s not it, that’s not it at all. I can see this, but I’ve lost my vision. Everything, I can’t see past this stupid dimension.”

Dipper thought it best not to take hold of the demon’s hand then, instead he moved to sit on his own bed while giving Bill unwavering attention. For a good few minutes Dipper worried Bill might start clawing his eyes, he didn’t want to see that and their deal entailed keeping Bill alive and as healthy as possible. But, he had a smidgen of understanding what Bill was going on about and that could help him figure out how to approach the situation.

Mabel ran off to get Grunkle Ford before he could stop her, under the impression that the demon lost his sight. Not that Ford would care. He only knew what Grunkle Ford told him about his experience with Bill, the demon built a relationship of trust and used Ford to his advantage only to turn and betray him. There were plenty of reasons to not trust Bill, but what could he do in this state? They have a deal and until Bill gets some real strength he shouldn’t be a threat. With that in mind, it seemed ridiculous to drag Ford in here for help figuring out what was wrong with Bill. The only people Bill could trust were Mabel and himself, they were under the deal so they couldn’t break it. Having a deal with Bill was no different than holding a double edged sword- this could backfire in the worst ways.

Now Bill sported closed eyes and a wrinkled nose, emoting distaste, with his hands closed around his ears. Dipper could only give a sympathetic sigh. Standing up again Dipper put a hand on the demon’s shoulder and tried again, “Bill, look at me.” Upset golden eyes met with his own. “Tell me how to help you, would explaining help?” It could be considered therapeutic, he’s seen and experienced it in action so it was worth a shot.

"Yes it will help." Bill didn't sound convincing, but he continued on to do as requested. “One of the reasons I was such a powerful demon centered around the fact that I could hop dimensions, I saw and knew everything that was happening and that happened in the past. Sure I couldn’t always predict the future, but I was all knowing. Never once did I think I would lose that, I don't know if someone is plotting after me or if someone is intruding this house. Neither will I know if a world just ended, I’m completely blind.” Bill gave a weak smile, “I’m like you, how gross.”

He knew not to take offense, Bill’s opinion wouldn’t change even when forced to ask for a deal with them and to rely on their help. No, likely Bill hated them more and that should frighten him but it doesn’t.

“I can’t even hear your thoughts, it’s so silent. I don’t like it.” Bill was definitely pouting, he looked more childish than all powerful right now.

“Welcome to our world, Bill, not all of us can read minds.” He still needed to be nice, the demon woke up distraught and was near destroyed at the realization. “But I’m sorry.”

Appearing puzzled and still feverish, Dipper wouldn’t blame the extra flush on anything but the fact that Bill was malnourished, sickly, and overwrought.

“Now look at you, I don’t know how you moved so much with that wound. Lay on your back.” Dipper straightened himself and after fixing Bill on his back he moved to situate Bill as he saw fit. “Here, pillows fluffed and all, you can rest here till you can walk around. I’ll leave you extra blankets at the end of the bed if you get cold, but I want you to ask so you don’t move wrong and tear your stitches.” He was starting to sound like Mabel, that needed to stop. “When Mabel gets back I can grab some painkillers for you. Are you in pain?”

While rambling Dipper moved to sit back on his bed and grabbed the first book he could find, but made it a point to glance at Bill when asking the question. The way Bill was looking at him he almost expected the other’s jaw to drop.

“Define pain.” Bill gives him a sly smile and with that he forces himself to look away, not wanting to think about what Bill meant. He would just get the painkillers and mind his own business because this is a demon who could kill them once this deal is over. Maybe if he said that to himself enough during this deal he would keep his sanity.

When Dipper looked up again Mabel stood at the door and Bill was laying on his side, the idiot ignored his comment about staying on his back. He didn’t know what Bill felt, maybe he had managed to heal that wound. Yet, Bill had lost a chunk of his power and it had shaken him. He didn’t want to remember the demon in that moment because to him Bill was all powerful and if something could hurt Bill then there was worse to come.

Mabel looked to Bill, she was openly confused and aghast, but she still asked in concern of Bill. “Is he okay?”

“He’s not blind, kind of.” That was the best explanation he had. “I’m going to grab water and some painkillers for Bill, stay up here with him.”

He didn’t wait for a response, standing from his bed and passing her by to head downstairs. Dipper didn’t think to wonder what happened to Ford or Stan given that Mabel ran after them in distress. All she knew was he went to sleep and when he woke up he was blind, though it wasn’t a lie. Dwelling would only upset him more, so he rummaged through the medicine cabinet and grabbed the strongest thing they had. Lucky for Bill, Stan wasn’t the most honest man so they had some good stuff. Questioning where it came from wouldn’t do any good. Grabbing a cup and filling it with water he took notice to a new presence entering the room, but only addressed them when he set the cup down and leaned against the counter. It was Ford, he looked a mess but it was him.

“Come to tell me how to break a deal? I’m not interested.” And he wasn’t, not yet. It was harmless for all he cared, only when the demon had true power would it be unstable.

His great uncle faltered but stood strong like the man he is. “He’s rubbing off on you, from the moment you walked into my house I could see you changed. I almost wondered if he messed with your brain until I heard him wail and scream, like a human.”

Dipper crossed his arms uncomfortable with the memory, but his eyes didn’t show it for a moment. Showing any inconfidence would only fuel Ford’s fire. “And your point is?”

“My point is the moment he’s well I’m not letting him near you, I’ll put up that barrier again and lock you upstairs if I have to.” His finality was enough to make his fake confidence falter.

“What did Bill do to you, really? I feel like when you told me it was dumbed down, maybe you were trying to make it PG. I don’t know, but right now Bill is more human than ever. He’s scared, I saw it in his eyes.” That was human emotion, was it not Ford? He had every intent to fulfill the deal until proven Bill wasn’t helpless. “He hasn’t brought on the end of the world, has he? If he wanted Mabel or I dead we would’ve never made it to Gravity Falls. Don’t worry.”

Maybe verbal attack wasn’t the right approach, this was still his Grunkle Ford.

A new voice interrupted that thought. “Don’t be so hard on the old man, he’s only frustrated because he hasn’t had enough weird up close and personal.” It was Stan who walked in and sat down at the kitchen table with a bottle of liquor in hand.

“Because drinking the stress away eliminates the problem, Stanley.” Ford sure was quick to attack, yet he is the one person who should know that drinking doesn’t always come with an issue with Stan.

“Grunkle Stan comes in to call me off and you get defensive, who’s stressed?” Dipper almost wants to ask for a drink except he’s still young and drinking normally doesn’t happen around the adults. He’s not a troublemaker anyways, he’s just been through enough to elicit some leeway. Dipper sits at the table, forgetting his promise to Bill, and has to will himself from laying his head on the table and falling asleep- again.

Ford pinches at the bridge of his nose and mumbles something about trouble and conniving but doesn’t share with him or Stan, so he’d let it slide. After all he sits opposite of Dipper and next to Stan, steals the bottle, and said, “Maybe one drink.” He can’t help but chuckle.

“So, did the great adventurer Pines retire or did Soos decide to quit on the Mystery Shack? I can’t imagine he ever would.”

“Retire is a strong word kid. I’m not that old yet.” Stan laughs and gets his bottle back from Ford which results in a subtle smile. Alcoholic. He better not come back next summer to a man sick with alcohol poisoning.

“They moved to a house of their own, Soos visits often but we took over the Shack and Stanley over here does his silly tours still.” If they were ever vaguely real the tourists would scare off. This place was made to distract from real problems, not provide more issues to worry about. Ignore the demon upstairs and it’s a place of excitement and the right amount of innocence for the kids.

His grunkles would scold him for not putting himself in that category, kid. Maybe he’s seventeen but he’s still a kid to them and he would be for awhile.

“Dipper, I’m sorry for being so rough on you about this. It’s just I can’t help but be scared, the last time we dealt with Bill it was almost more than we could handle.”

“It’s like you don’t think I’m scared either, as if I can predict what’s going to happen with him. Even Bill can’t do that anymore.”

Ford wasn’t as confused as Stan, but it didn’t take long for the both to understand what he meant. “Mabel ran in the room yelling about how Bill was blind, I didn’t know what to think and at first I thought she was delirious. This is Bill after all, he can’t just be blind. And he’s not, he’s losing power though.” Grunkle Ford was quick to elaborate but Dipper wanted to know what he thought about this. He’s the author after all, he’s had more one on one time with Bill than any of them.

Dipper decides to poke at the subject further, “My hypothesis is that while he’s using his power to sustain life and heal quicker, he’s draining what power he has left. This parasite is probably trying to drain him dry in the first place and using his power makes it easier to lose.” He still doesn’t even know what this parasite is, if it’s a thing at all.

“Given that no one has ever been able to hurt Bill before, unless his body is truly human I think the parasite is the one who had him stabbed.” It made sense.

“The wound was deep, now I don’t really know much about knives but I think it couldn’t do that sort of damage and no one carries around swords anymore. You’re not wrong.” Except what the hell is a parasite? “Anything in the journal? Maybe something about the mindscape and a parasitic demon or monster?” It was a long shot.

“Nope.” And that was expected, Bill raved about a parasite when Ford first saw him so Ford was guaranteed to look for answers. What they all got was no explanations, but that can be changed quickly.

“I’ll ask Bill, he has to give me an honest answer.” Dipper moved to stand, but was halted by a blood curdling scream. It wasn’t Mabel’s, but another yell followed and frantic, clattered footsteps with it.

She was a mess and tears streamed down her face, Mabel couldn’t get words out. “B-Bill he’s-.” They didn’t wait to hear her out, Ford and Stan moved ready to kill while he moved to investigate.

There wasn’t enough room for three men to gracefully race up the stairs, instead they all stumbled and fought for the lead to burst through the door. It was open at the top, Mabel was too rushed leaving to bother with closing the door. It just provides quick access.

Dipper knew Bill didn’t attack because they had a deal and she was under it, she wasn’t a loophole right? Also he would have followed her if he was stalking to slaughter. Instead he was thrashing in his bed and holding his hands to his eye.

He almost wondered if the demon had gone and clawed his eyes out as he suspected earlier. Blood slipped from under his palms and it wasn’t a small amount, it gushed from whatever they couldn’t see underneath. There were no coherent words in Bill’s screams, but sheer hysteria and pain. Dipper didn’t hesitate to push his way towards Bill’s bed with the hopes of calming the demon, it wasn’t going to be easy but he could try and he needed to more than ever. Being so close he could smell the blood and he didn’t like it, it was too metallic and potent.

“Bill what the hell is going on?” He almost wondered if Bill would hear him.

The demon was crying now, that he was certain of, but he didn’t move his hands to let them have a look. Maybe he heard a word or two but it wasn’t audible.

A look of horror manifested on Ford’s face and he spoke when Bill reduced to a whimper. “He’s only ever had one eye, this vessel has two.”

Everyone was startled when Bill let out a crude laugh that echoed through the shack, Dipper couldn’t comprehend the reaction from the demon or if he’d even heard Ford’s statement. Now though Bill cleared all suspicions, “That bitch.”

Dipper had his answer, someone else hurt Bill.

He knees were wobbling, struggling to hold his weight, because when Bill moved his hand to push back against the headboard they were able to see his right eye clear as day. Except it wasn’t there anymore, claw marks surrounded where an eye should be and inside the socket was just blood and mangled flesh. Blood flowed in a heavy stream down his face and no longer did Bill hold his roused state. He barely looked conscious.

Unable to look any longer he ran out the room and downstairs and out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update came slower and that could be a common occurrence in the future depending how I use my time, because my dance team is starting up again and we'll be having practice every day! (woo...excited but also not T-T) Thank you for being nice and I hope you enjoyed~


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a small fan mix on 8tracks if you would like to give it a listen, though spoilers lay ahead if you do! http://8tracks.com/once-uponadream/ode-to-the-night#smart_id

Mabel ran after him, though in his delirious state he hadn’t taken notice, and was rubbing at his back while he keened and hyperventilated. The image didn’t want to leave him alone and Dipper could still hear Bill’s screams hitting against his skull. Moving his hands to his abdomen, ignoring any tears that may have tried to fall, it was hard to keep his gut from spilling. 

“I think what scares me most is that this is happening to Bill.” Because this shouldn’t happen to Bill, it means there’s something stronger. 

Mabel moved Dipper to sit in the tall, rough grass and her arms wrapped around him as if the pressure might stop his rapid heartbeat or his pounding headache. This was getting to be too much and if seeing Bill get hurt kept beating him up like this how could he take care of him? He couldn’t take care of himself half the time, what the hell was he thinking? Curious if there was ever saying no, with Bill being on the verge of death and having nowhere to go, likely he would’ve groveled at their feet until they agreed. Maybe he just avoided another disturbing image that would stain his memory by agreeing. 

“I bet Grunkle Stan has him bandaged up, if you want to go back in.” Mabel didn’t talk loud, she still seemed upset. Leaning his head back to rest on her shoulder Dipper did want to run away now. Not back home, but away from Bill. 

“What I want is answers.” He stilled and stayed, comforted by Mabel’s presence, until his body wasn’t tremoring and aching to further reject tranquility. Then he stood and left Mabel. Likely one or both of his great uncles were sitting up there with Bill, who may or may not still be upset, but Dipper was getting his answers. Still he paused at the door in hesitation, which was closed meaning maybe there was something to hide whether it be a sight or conversation. For a moment he tried to listen, but there was nothing beyond a quiet whimper that died down in no time. 

“Why don’t you come in already, Pinetree.” It was Bill, and though he tried to sound confident it didn’t work. 

Putting his hand to the doorknob he pushed aside any fear and opened the door. Mabel was right, there was a large bandage wrapped around the demon’s face stained pink with blood that tried to seep through. Through his other eye red, swollen with tears, Bill looked to him still feverish and expression pained. Physically he looked fatigued, but his stiff posture and clear voice didn’t complete such an illustration. The bandages managing to distract from the avid attention of the others, Dipper wondered how many more would Bill sport while here?

“Part of the deal is that you’ll answer my questions honestly, so I want to know what’s going on. Who’s doing this to you?” He could spit out a few more questions, there was plenty he didn’t know but Bill already seemed discouraged by his first two. 

Pouting Bill waited a moment, as if it was really that hard to answer, before shrinking into the blankets and answering. “You’re right, I did promise honesty. It’s another demon and I’m getting hurt. There’s your honest answer.” He wasn’t being easy. 

Frowning Dipper was almost tempted to threaten the demon, maybe slap him silly with the fact that they want to help him not hurt him. But that’s information still, Ford didn’t know there were other demons. He certainly didn’t know and it wasn’t in the journals, there was still a little surprise in the fact that it was more than some parasite. Someone is pulling the strings from afar. 

“Bill, you know I want more than that. We can’t help you if you try and slip past my questions and hide what’s going on, I mean seriously this is childish. Who is the demon? How are they doing this? I need information if you want safety.” Neither Ford or Stan said anything to help him, but Ford’s interest was piqued and that was good. 

In response Bill made a noise that could best be described as a growl and showed his teeth. It wasn’t a smile though, it was closer to an animalistic threat of flashing teeth as a defense. Bill didn’t feel safe telling him, but the deal required it. If Dipper looked close enough he could have sworn the demon had fangs, but he payed no mind and concentrated on getting answers. 

“Lilith and she’s powerful. That’s how.” God, Bill was relentless. At least they have a name. Except, that name could lead them anywhere- there could be humans with that name, and they likely had no information on demons outside of Bill. 

Yet Ford made it clear he had an idea. “I’ve read legends about a demon Lilith, one said she was the first woman made. That she was the first demon made by Lucifer, except I wasn’t sure if anything like that existed. I didn’t have proof, I wouldn’t even know where to look for solid evidence for that. Until now, am I wrong?” 

Bill does smile now, seeming amused. Dipper knows that look and it was obvious on Bill’s face. “Close enough Sixer, she’s a demon and an old one you’re right about that. I have only superstitions about good old Lucifer, but Lilith would probably preach to you about him to hell and back. What can I say, I’m old but I’m not that old.” He laughs but it doesn’t last as pain paints over his expression. “You better pray you don’t ever meet her, she’s only playing with me. But she’s more powerful than I am.” 

Dipper almost doubted whether Bill was going to survive this, he made it sound like this was going to end in destruction if they ever met face to face. He’d rather the demon not start another apocalypse. 

“If you see her, are you going to fight her?” It seemed like a reasonable question, but for a moment Bill was aghast with the idea. He was wide eyed just like before and looked unsure of what to say. 

His fists clenched around the blankets and it almost looked like Bill was searching for something. The demon’s brows furrowed looking down at the blanket now in concentration not frustration. “If I don’t get any stronger, I will die. But she has a quarrel to pick with me, so it’s not out of the question.” 

She was a demon, maybe they would never have to see her and maybe she would never come to Earth in the first place, but the way Bill spoke would have him believe that this was happening and if they were in her path they would wind up dead. He needed to make sure that Bill would get stronger, the thought still distressing, so that if any demon were to make it out of this fight it would be Bill. There was no telling what Lilith would do or what she planned to do when coming down to Earth. Would she try and end the world like Bill? Would she want worse? The dream demon was hurt and that was more than enough to scare Dipper. 

Still he went to sit on his bed and found it hard to stray to comfort Bill like he needed. Like he deserved, because he is hurt, partially human, and for now defenseless against Lilith. Dipper’s eyes never veered away from Bill, but he wouldn’t be able to hold himself if Bill were to meet his gaze for even a second. 

“Do you know if she has any weaknesses?” Bill was all knowing, if he’s dealt with Lilith before he should know. 

“Kid, if I knew I would’ve killed her already. She’s always been out of my reach, I’d like to believe she’ll stay in her little hovel for the rest of her existence. That would be asking for too much, I suppose.” He was met eye to eye with Bill and it was enough to make him move from where he sat. 

“Right. I’ll just go get those painkillers you asked for.” A ‘thanks’ sat on the tip of his tongue, that information wasn’t something Bill had to give because he always found a loophole and could avoid anything. It was best to push that aside. 

With each step Dipper noticed how his feet felt heavy and his lungs constricted. No, he couldn’t freak out again and he couldn’t get sick again, he is stronger than this. 

Mabel sat in the kitchen with her fingers pressed against her temples and it looked like she was barely holding herself together. A thought surfaced and it made him realize how much Mabel has grown and changed, this isn’t the same spunky girl from their first summer in Gravity Falls. Now she seemed to be hitting hard against the current and didn’t know how to regain control, was this too much? 

“Are you going to be okay? He’s doing better,” Dipper had to pause and rethink what he said, “for the most part.” Mabel nearly sobbed when he stopped speaking. 

He wasn’t expecting that, but understanding completely he moved to put a hand to her shoulder. “Hey, I know this is scary but I think this is going to turn out okay. Scratch that, I know it will because for once I think we’ll have power on our side. Real power.” God he better be right. 

Nodding she wiped her tears but didn’t say a thing, likely she knew it was too hopeful to say such things as Bill continues to get worse. And he was the one who proclaimed his death if Lilith does come bearing a fight. Moving his hand to imitate the motion of rubbing her back, Dipper walks away with guilt continuing to rise in his chest. This wasn’t what he expected when taking in Bill Cipher. Now Ford or Stan were likely going to curse him and shoulder the weight of knowing he brought the demon into their house and now they have to do something about a demon they have no knowledge of. That’s probably what they’re thinking and it hurt. Dipper got out some weaker painkillers for his own headache and was tempted to set some down along with a drink for Mabel, it was what she needed if she felt anything like he did. Terrible was an understatement. There was no avoiding the constant ache and exhaustion, even in sleep he was terrorized with nightmares and it may not even be Bill’s doing. He’d be annoyed if it was Bill, but he would be able to ask for it to stop and that would feel like he had some control over this. If it were Bill he would know who was causing this, but it wasn’t him. It might not ever be him again. 

Slowly, Dipper did make his way upstairs again, with the pills and water in hand. At his entrance his great uncles made their exit and Dipper had to be okay with that. Of all people they wouldn’t want to watch over Bill, he didn’t want to but it was part of the deal. Working around his parents might make it harder but the deal called for taking care of Bill. 

“Here. I have another question.” Dipper didn’t move to sit on his bed again but loomed over Bill and next to the night stand. 

“Have at it kiddo, I’ll answer honestly.” He wasn’t a kid anymore, he should oppose being called such. 

“Are you the one giving me the nightmares? You are the dream demon after all, did you give me that nightmare when we were asleep on the table?” He must still have that power, he’s Bill and who else could? 

“Nope.” That was more disappointing than it should be. “I was asleep like you were, and I would be in the mindscape if I could do that. Kind of defeats the purpose of being here, when there I am guaranteed all power I need and want.” 

So he was right, he didn’t want to be right but he was. 

He didn’t mean to appear so disappointed but he was and in that moment the best solution to it was stuffing his face into his blanket and groaning. It helped burn a little steam, but Bill was still there and the threat was still haunting him. 

“What was the dream about, if anyone can figure it out I can.” He didn’t expect Bill to offer up something like that, or maybe the demon would make a deal out of it. A deal could give him more power but it was stupid to even consider accepting. 

Turning his head to look over at Bill he didn’t have to think twice. “Like hell I’m telling you.” Bill laughs and he’s okay with that, after all when was the last time he’d seen someone happy? It felt like everyone was falling to helplessness and distress around him. But Bill was the catalyst since he entered their school and will continue until he leaves. 

“Just trying to help, if someone offers you something for free take it with grace kid. It’s called common courtesy.” As if he’d listen to what a demon had to say on courtesy. 

Silence took over for the first time he arrived with Bill in his arms and the peace was bliss. If it ever ended it would be too soon, there was no screaming and no pointing fingers or guns at one another. Bill was resting, he was resting, and the rest of his family should be taking a moment to breathe and relax once more. Closing his eyes was easy to do with exhaustion being heavy on his frame. He hummed and let his fingers grasp around the thin, but soft blankets underneath him. It wasn’t too hot or too cold, the only sounds around him were nature, and the world around him wasn’t so fast paced anymore. No anxiety to twist him tight, for now. 

“It’s quiet.” Bill’s voice grated against his silence and he couldn’t help scrunching up his nose in distaste.

“Don’t ruin it, Cipher. Get your rest, you need and deserve it. Who knows when you’ll be able to enjoy this again.” Dipper was still afraid for Bill, but he could push it aside knowing that right now he was okay. 

This silenced the demon, if only for a moment, and when Dipper opened his eyes to see his reaction it was those same wide eyes as before when he was just waking up to a new world. Those eyes that spoke a million words that Dipper couldn’t understand because he didn’t have the power to look beyond what was in front of him. Maybe he doesn’t know anything about appreciating the views when Bill just lost half of what he may call his world. Perception was a weird thing. 

“You’ve changed since we last met.” That’s all Bill said, and it was hard to decipher what it meant because it was so simple. It should mean nothing, if it weren’t coming from the dream demon Bill Cipher it wouldn’t mean a thing. What was he even supposed to think about that? Was it good or bad? Except that he just told Bill to relax, he should do the same. 

So within minutes Dipper let darkness take over with the intentions to do nothing but relax and slumber away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the chapters get longer, things just have to happen first~ I hope you enjoyed and I hope to upload the next chapter quickly! Also the real question is will Bill ever get a break? (not if i can help it :3) Kudos and comments always appreciated!


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may be heavily edited later, the content will stay the same however! Hope you enjoy~

Mabel moved to the couch where she could comfortably slump alongside her Grunkle Stan and Ford. It was later in the day and she hadn’t seen any sign of Dipper or Bill, though less expecting the demon and more so her brother. As far as she could tell Bill couldn’t get out of bed on his own. That was okay, she still had the image of Bill’s gored face imprinted clearly in her brain and seeing the demon would only remind her of what she saw and how loud he screamed. 

It was harder to suppress when she remembered her brother running outside and seeming so helpless for Bill. 

Her grunkles were still uncomfortable with all of this, starting with Bill Cipher to them being home in the middle of February because they were kidnapped. This was a strange situation they found themselves in. For now, planning to not return to school in California sounded good, it wouldn’t take Dipper much convincing to just leave that place behind and maybe stay here or just move somewhere else. Forever they would be remembered as the kids who provoked a school invasion. But there wasn’t a single death, was that successful? No, that was near sadistic to consider. 

Trying to watch the television was hopeless, a brain dead state preventing any considerable concentration. What woke her up instead was the sound of car doors outside closing and the Mystery Shack’s bell ringing despite the closed sign on the door. 

“Mabel, Dipper?” Oh shit. She looked to Ford and Stan quickly and to the staircase that was on the other side of that wall. They were too close and she needed to provide the distraction, so she ran to the store’s entry and made as big of a scene as she could. 

“Mom! Dad! I’m so glad you are here, so soon, and so quickly.” How was she supposed to explain her Grunkle Ford? “Set your bags down, rest, I’m sure you are plum tired. Actually Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford are just in the living room why don’t we let them know you're here!” She barely registered that she held them in a tight hug until she was grabbing them instead and pulling them past the stairway. Good, good so far. 

They dropped their luggage in the store but that was fine because occupying them right now could be life or death for Bill. 

“Where’s Dipper?” Mom asked and she flinched but kept her head held high while pulling them to where her grunkles sat. 

“Asleep. Look Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford mom and dad are here! Isn’t this just great!” They were still stiff where they sat and she was more than surprised that they hadn’t run to close the upstairs door, maybe it was already shut. 

They both stood and gave nervous smiles while stepping forward to greet the distant family. Mabel could easily assume they barely knew their niece and nephew who sent the twins down for a vacation so many summers ago. She could only be glad that they were graced with the past few summers despite what has happened. Of course they wouldn’t believe half of the stories, maybe not even now when a demon was sleeping upstairs. 

“Anita, David so glad you could make it.” Ford spoke as best he could despite the growing worry that they all shared about what would happen if and when they tried to see Dipper. 

They weren’t too concerned about their uncles then, because their kid who was believed to be kidnapped was sitting upstairs and they could finally see him again. They didn’t even bother to ask how either of the twins ended up in Gravity Falls when before they were just at school in California. “We want to see Dipper, is he upstairs?” Already their figures leane towards the staircase and worry was spoken through body language. 

Before Mabel could argue they were running upstairs and yelling for Dipper in excitement and she could’ve sworn relief was still there. Being told he was fine wasn’t enough, now that they know Mabel is fine they have to see him for themselves. And they did just that. 

She didn’t see what happened but before she could even hear or try and run up the stairs Bill was being tugged down the stairs by dad and with each tumble and trip he yelped in pain. He still looked rumpled from sleep yet his eyes clearly showed that now he was wide awake. Blood was already seeping from the bandage around his waist. 

“Dad stop it! He’s hurt.” It was hard to confront the exaggerated repulsion that radiated from her father in reaction to her request, but it was all she could manage given the deal that binds her to the demon. She needed to protect him, yet her body was frozen in place as Bill was dangling in a twisting grip. 

Mom was upstairs in tears while calling the police down, this was best described as a nightmare. Bill was screaming in pain, Dad was readily punching Bill down to keep him quiet, and Mom was wailing in fear while on the phone with police on the way. 

“Why are you defending this monster, he’s your captor.” Dad wasn’t very gentle when snapping at her and it was hard to ignore tears pricking at her eyes as sirens were heard in the distance and Bill was still helpless under the force of her dad. 

She yelled in defense, “Look at where we are, do you really think he’s keeping us captive? Let go of him please, you’re hurting him!” Her entire body was tremoring because they were breaking the deal right now. Bill was hurt because she couldn’t keep her parents at bay. There was a falter in his footing, but he still didn’t loosen his grip on the demon as police officers stormed the house holding little to no subtlety. Dipper was probably awake now.   
…

 

“Son, son you need to wake up.” A heavy hand was shaking his shoulder and all Dipper wanted to do was roll over and stuff his face back in his pillow. More sleep. His eyes were forced open when a flashlight was shone directly at his face and the several voices in the room became evident. 

Looking to the bed across the room he realized Bill was gone and replaced with a room full of police officers and his parents. No no no no. This wasn’t happening. He could almost feel the strain on their deal, as if a rope was trying to keep them connected but was burning as it grated against his wrist. His parents were at the door questioned by their own officer while he had his own personal policeman lingering over him still trying to fully wake him. 

“Bill. Where’s Bill. Where did he go, what did you do to him?” Adrenaline allowed him to shoot up, by some miracle missing the officer, and to look around the room frantically. Mom and Dad ran to his side and suddenly were showering him with affection. He wanted to puke, where is Bill? “What have you done? Where is he, where has the man who was sleeping in here gone?” Every muscle in his body was tense and ready to pounce. 

Mom smiled softly. “Don’t worry sweetie, he’ll get what’s coming to him.” It was like a kick to the gut and he found it was hard to take in any air at all. 

An officer had pushed his parents aside now and Dipper could vaguely hear them talking, they mentioned panic attacks and repeated the single word ‘back.’ They kept on saying back and he wanted to yell it too because everyone needed to get back. He couldn’t breathe and he needed to get to Bill and save him. Tears were streaming down his face, but he wouldn’t have known that because his entire face felt numb. It was beyond his control when his feet pushed him from the bed and now he was the one yelling for everyone to get back. 

He ran and ran and nearly tripped over the stairs, there were more police once he was at the bottom of the stairs. This was his parents’ fault. 

Screams interrupted any further musing. 

“Ford. Stanford please help me. You bastard stop this, Stanford.” Bill was screaming and that was a sound he hadn’t wanted to hear again. 

All of his family was standing at the entryway of the kitchen but not a single person moved to fight for Bill’s release. Not even Mabel, instead she was leaning against Stan and gripping at his suit. Several police were staring his way when he made his entrance without control over his breathing, it wasn’t an easy scene. 

“Bill.” It was muttered, caught by the shock which still consumed most of his senses. 

If he hadn’t known any better he would’ve thought the swat team was outside and ready to take Bill away from him. At least he wasn’t shot on the spot, that wouldn’t have ended well for either end of the spectrum. There was still a chance to save Bill and fulfill their deal, and a chance at defeating Lilith before she did anything to the innocent populations. With his hands cuffed behind his back Bill’s wounds bled furiously, including a few that weren’t there before. Someone beat the demon into submission, something he wouldn’t dare to try- it was Bill after all. Right now though Dipper still could believe that the demon was helpless to defend for himself. 

A single red eye was glaring at him with murderous intentions and now was being pulled away by the forearm. “You.” Dipper was referenced as if saying his name would be acid to his tongue. 

Before Dipper could try to stop what was happening around him, swiftly, the demon was out the door and an apology never left his lips. Hands at his shoulders caused him to nearly jump from the stairs. Turning violently he found it was his parents and he couldn’t find it in himself to feel relief in seeing them again. After everything he should have wanted to see them, but instead wanted them out of the shack and away from him. Mabel could be in danger because of what they did, he could be in danger, and what was there to do about it? In his delirious state yelling was the solution. 

“Look what you’ve done! He didn’t do a damn thing but make a mistake because he didn’t understand what he was doing, now you’ve gotten him arrested and he’s probably going to die. Just great!” He flinched away from his mom’s strong hold and stormed past everyone’s watchful gazes. Something to get his mind off of how Bill looked at him, disgusted, that’s what he needed. 

His parents may have followed him, but he payed no mind and instead got a bottle of water and the nearest thing in the cupboard that looked edible. When was the last time he even ate? Having Bill around made him exhausted so it was hard to fit in meals around all the sleeping and distractions, except now Bill’s gone. Fumbling with the water bottle lasted a few seconds before he threw it aside and caught the attention of every officer in the room. A scream barely held in and Dipper let his head hit the table with no mercy. That look was the only thing that reminded him just what was at the other end of this deal. 

What would Bill do in jail? He barely knew how to act like a normal person, he could get himself beaten to death if he said something wrong. Not that the Bill he knew couldn’t slaughter everything in his path. 

A car engine was barely audible through the walls of the shack, but clearly heard were the sirens that belonged to a cop car or two. He was more concentrated on the fact that he was losing his demon to his parents quick fear and inability to listen. 

Through his seething Dipper hadn’t noticed Mabel enter the kitchen or come to his side. “Hey Dippin Dots, what can I do to help?” She didn’t say he looked bad, but he knew he did. 

“We need to get him back, it’ll put us in danger of breaking the deal. I don’t want to know what happens if we accidently break a deal with him, he already looked like he was ready to maul me- he was so angry.” It wasn’t his fault, but Bill was just as angry as he was at his parents. 

Mabel patted his head before resting her head on his and let her hands hang in front of him. “Will you kill me if I ask you to go easy on moms and pops?” Maybe. 

Biting at the inside of his mouth he knew it would make this easier if he at least asked why, besides them being their parents. “Why should I? We’re both in danger now because our deal could be broken and Bill’s on his way to prison and we can’t do anything to stop this.” And she’ll probably just present that they are our parents, our family. 

Eyes on them, Dipper suddenly found that he shouldn’t be spouting on about the deal, the police will start getting suspicious and asking all the right questions. If anything he could plead the fifth. 

He hadn’t expected the same officer from upstairs to follow him, once again his parents were standing a few feet away with Mom holding onto Dad and looking at him with that pathetic stare, but it seemed the cop’s destination was him. His name tag read Lawrence, but if Dipper could help it he wouldn’t have to know that. 

“You escaped before I could question you, a few things back there caught my attention that certainly didn’t match your sister’s story. I was wondering if you would be willing to talk it out with me.” Lawrence was trying to keep a soft voice, it only made him feel more like a child- as if he was twelve again. “With the things you said, when used in court, you may be able to get your,” the officer was uncomfortable, “friend a ticket to a hospital for the criminally insane rather than prison. That could be good for him.” The fact that the officer had to reassure him of that made him think otherwise. 

“I don’t want him in any prison, let alone do I want to talk to you.” He didn’t have any plans of letting the demon get stuck anywhere they couldn’t get to him. They had a deal after all and he still wanted his answers. 

Looking to Mabel for help did nothing to ease his confusion and the panic rising in his stomach. She put a hand on his shoulder, now raised to look down on him, and gave a sad smile that clearly said ‘be honest.’ There was only so much he could say before it entered the subject of supernatural and things no policeman would believe. 

When looking to the officer as Mabel left he found a soft smile on his face, “Then how about you make me understand? Tell me what happened, please.” Fine. He would tell what he knew to be true, leaving out a few crucial details that could end him up in places he couldn’t escape. 

Dipper nodded without a word, permitting the officer to pull up a chair and Lawrence had another officer fetching them both drinks and he knew then that this man had no intentions of leaving until he gave a full, detailed story. The man even got his little notebook out for notes, they probably wouldn’t tell much. 

“I can’t tell you how Bill brought us to Gravity Falls, we weren’t conscious for that part, but we did wake up when we arrived. We weren’t restrained, we were a few hundred feet from the highway leading to Gravity Falls, and Bill wasn’t armed. Mabel and I could have run if we really wanted to, but we would’ve been leaving a dead man in our tracks.” Truthful, so far. Maybe he could tell Bill’s story without a single mention of their deal. The only demonic thing about this deal was that they left California in literal flames. 

Lawrence nodded, took a note or two, and eagerly urged him forward. 

“He wanted our help, he didn’t threaten us and even offered a favor once we did our part. Bill had a stab wound to the abdomen and was bleeding beyond control, for all I know he probably could have died from blood loss if we were seconds too late. With a ride from a friend, who I chose to omit the name of, the drive here was quick.” Gideon had no trouble in this case no matter how that kid had tortured them in past summers. The other officers were listening intently, he was practically putting on a show for the Gravity Falls police department. 

His parents were also curiously listening from the kitchen entrance, but they never moved and Mom never faltered from gripping onto Dad. He really did have a full audience, and if he really was contradicting Mabel’s statements hopefully it wasn’t enough to get her in trouble. 

“I actually have a request before I continue.” He looked directly at Lawrence as he asked his own question, “If I say anything that’s contradicting my sister’s story, don’t hold it against her. She was trying to protect Bill. I want you to know my sister has a heart of gold and if she is protecting Bill she sees good in him. Take that into consideration.” 

Lawrence didn’t hesitate to smile once more at Dipper and give his word, “Nothing will happen to Mabel, she has nothing to worry about.” Though the officer didn’t say anything about Mabel and her opinion of Bill, he saw no ill will in Lawrence and for now that was enough. 

Dipper took a drink of the provided water, reminded just how poorly he’d been taking care of himself while watching Bill, and tried to wade through the anxiety to continue. “When we arrived our great uncles didn’t notice at first, Mabel was rummaging through the store for first aid while I was looking for every way to delay the loss of blood. It was a little sickening, neither of us have much medical knowledge but that’s what Bill wanted out of us. When Stan and Ford found us they were just as frightened to find him as any normal person would be, of course they recognized him and Ford was ready to shoot on the spot. Good ‘ol Mabel stopped them with some persuasion and we even got Stanley to stitch up the open wound.” 

It seemed the officer had come to a conclusion. “Why didn’t you bring him to the hospital if you cared so much for his health? He seemed to need professional help if anything.” 

Dipper couldn’t help but laugh at the question, it had everyone in the room wide eyed and really the officer should have realized it first. “He was scared of you people. Everyone in California and beyond saw he invaded a school and ‘kidnapped’ two kids. Of course a public hospital wasn’t going to recognize him and turn him in. Really that one should have been obvious, mr. detective.” He was too relaxed about this, he should still be fighting for Bill’s innocence. 

“Anyways, Stan stitched up the wound and let him sleep on the couch. He didn’t wake until the next day. I almost thought he wouldn’t wake up, but he did despite looking fairly unstable. We doted on him for the next hour while our great uncles were attacking him left and right with questions, ready to probably tie him to the chair he sat in. They knew better than to turn Bill in, Mabel probably would’ve chopped them down before they tried. She was already protective of him before I even was, she was treating him as if he were her own child. It cooled down after that, Mabel and I just planned to reassure Mom and Dad that we were safe without the crucial detail that Bill was staying with us and hoped that everyone would adjust accordingly. We moved Bill upstairs and kept him well, he was never alone for a moment despite the fact that he could literally do nothing until those stitches weren’t holding him together.” 

His confidence faltered, how the hell was he supposed to explain what happened to Bill’s face? He told them he was never alone, and that was the truth. There was no saying that it happened out of nowhere and Lawrence would question him about it given the large bandage Bill was sporting when they found him. 

“And the large bandage over his eye, well it’s kinda weird. Stan and Ford were upstairs with him while Mabel and I were downstairs, she was talking me down because I was still a little frightened about what we had taken in. I had agreed to get him some painkillers, but it was hard to make myself go back up there. The break was nice while it lasted. We were startled when screaming was heard from upstairs, mind you both our great uncles were up with him so I thought maybe Ford lost it and was hurting Bill. That wasn’t the case, when we went up there I couldn’t believe my eyes.” Oh that was terrible, considering the state of Bill’s eye. “His entire right eye was covered in blood, you couldn’t really see his eye, and it was running down his face. I barely got to see it at first, but I could still see the blood falling. Bill was in pure agony and no one knew how to stop it. When he calmed down we wrapped his eye with bandage, it seemed like the best solution at the time.” He decided it best to leave the part about the actual eye being mauled given he had no explanation for it that they would believe. 

The officer’s notebook was plenty filled, though Dipper couldn’t imagine what he’d said that helped the department out in any way but maybe he just didn’t know what it meant to be a detective on this case, or any case. This one would just have to go unsolved. 

“When everyone was calm I decided to take on watching Bill given that he was staying in my room. We talked a little, not about much, and before I knew it he was asleep and I followed suit. Then I woke up to this.” He hadn’t meant the cruelty that spat from his lips when he finished, but it had him slumping in his seat and hiding a manic grin. “Is that all, officer? Any questions?” 

Lawrence seemed shocked as he flipped through his notes once and glanced at him, it wasn’t an easy story to take in. “And you’re sure you don’t know how you got here? Coming from California to Oregon isn’t an easy trek and it sounds like Bill wasn’t in the condition to manage it. And, I might add, on the tape of Bill avoiding open fire there isn’t any evidence of him ever grabbing you and running. There’s just fire.” It sounded like something hard to justify, so he lied. 

“We were unconscious, the last thing I remember was Bill speaking. Saying something like he wanted to talk. That’s all.” Easy enough. 

Dipper didn’t expect the officer to retaliate so quickly. “According to the footage and reports from the men we had on campus, you recognized Bill. Have you met him before this?” Shit. “You said, and I quote, ‘You all have to get out of here now! He’s dangerous and there’s no telling what he can or will do, bullets won’t do a thing.’ What do you say to that?” 

What would he say to that? “Yes, I did recognize him. I can’t explain my words, I was in a panic. I recognized that man and all I could think was neither my sister or me would escape.” 

“How do you know him?” Simple enough of a question that he couldn’t avoid. 

“We met, a few summers ago, in Gravity Falls. He was different back then, almost a different person.” Diabolical. “I never thought he would ask for our help, it certainly took me by surprise.” Vague enough, didn’t hint anything about Bill being a demon. Still, now he was walking dangerous waters. 

The detective was getting sly, right now was when he really needed the help of someone a little more clever like Bill or Grunkle Stan. “And what did you know about him then? What was he like?” 

Dipper growled, it even took him off his balance and he was asking himself ‘where the hell did that come from?’ It certainly did scare the detective, the man had both hands on the table and sat back in his chair. He wouldn’t likely pull a gun on a kid, too many eyes at least. “He was conniving, I met him only a few times and very briefly but he seemed like someone I wouldn’t trust. I still have some trust issues with him, but I still stand by him when I say he is completely helpless and has never had the intentions of hurting anyone when he came to my school and still doesn’t.” Not while he’s under the deal, it was a whisper in the back of his mind that Dipper caught but they weren’t his own words. Bill? Suddenly Dipper was a little more aware of a warm feeling that surrounded him, almost similar to an aura, and it wouldn’t surprise him if the shadow of a triangle was lingering near by. 

“I don’t think he ever has hurt anyone.” Now that was the first lie that Dipper had a hard time defending, but hopefully his eyes didn’t speak it. 

Looking to his parents for the first time, finding himself at some sort of conclusion all he could concentrate on was the horror that was painted on both their eyes. They probably didn’t like him defending his captor. Except Bill never really was his captor. 

The officer was adding to his notes as he spoke again, no longer with a breath of accusation or a tense composure. “I’ll give you a break kid, but later I want to ask you more about when you first met Bill. Okay?” 

He smiled, and that seemed to shake the officer. “Sure, you know where to find me.” 

Dipper moved to face the table and gulped at the water, relieved to know that for now this was over and he was getting a break. When his mom grabbed the officer by the arm to stop him this caught his attention, but he could barely hear what she whispered. 

“That’s not my son.” Oh, now that was interesting.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be heavily edited later, don't sue me~ Hope you enjoy the chapter anyhow!

Yellow eyes with black slits, similar to a cat’s, stared back at him much like the common nightmare of Bill possessing him. At the time he was unwilling and pulled out of his body altogether, this must be different because he still is Dipper. Or at least that is what he knew, according to what his parents had seen he was no longer Dipper Pines. The eyes and snarky remarks would certainly convince anyone that this body might not belong to Dipper. 

Can you leave the shack? 

The words came so clearly that Dipper thought Bill was standing behind him. Knowing that two guards stood outside the bathroom door the answer was fairly clear, and he had no intention of answering out loud. No. What else could he say? Bill didn’t have to say a word, for the disappointment was evident. He felt a little hopeless himself, they were still in a deal with no foreseeable future of getting Bill back. At one point he was told Bill wouldn’t be headed to jail, but instead was already sitting in the nearest hospital given his myriad injuries. Knowing this didn’t make any of this feel easier, there was no comprehensible way for them to get Bill out of the spotlight now. 

There wasn’t another word from the demon, supposedly, but instead there was a change. As if he was fading away, one eye changed back to his own while his right eye remained yellow with the thin slit as what should be the pupil. Over all he still looked like himself, it was just that eye which with a little grooming he should be able to cover. If he hadn’t left his hat in his room this would be easier, but this would have to do. 

Now he just needed to get to Mabel so they could talk alone. Messing with his bangs one last time he opened the door and kept his head down, really there would be no explanation for this if one of them saw he had an abnormal eye. Keeping a low gaze he waved at the officer on his left and walked back down the stairs.

Everyone was still in their respective spots while the officers occupied the Mystery Shack. A grimace couldn’t help crossing his face when stopping at the bottom steps for just a moment to look at what his parents had caused. Now Bill sits in a hospital with cuffs to accompany him wherever he goes. Rubbing at his wrists Dipper stepped down and looked for Mabel, who had settled at their mom and dad’s side. She wasn’t talking though, he wouldn’t either because one wrong word could land them back in California and without any future visits to Gravity Falls. That wouldn’t work, Bill would follow them to his best ability no matter where they were because they made a deal. That much was clear when Bill sauntered into their school to pick them up, certainly causing a scene given how many police (were some of them FBI?) stood on guard in every corner of the house. 

He didn’t approach with any clear anxiety showing, though there was something fowl crawling up his skin and scratching at every bone in his body, however clearly his parents were put off by his arrival. Dipper only spent a moment looking them over; from the expression on their faces, oh did his father look threatened, to the fear that shook their shoulders. His mom was holding onto Mabel in a tight grip that couldn’t be pleasant for his sister. 

“Mabel, I wanted to talk to you upstairs.” She seemed intrigued by the mismatched appearance of his eyes. When he had looked up to his parents there was no hiding it, but maybe it would coax them to let Mabel join him, or they may retract and refuse them any privacy. 

“Yeah-” Mabel wasn’t given a single moment to continue her statement, Dad cutting in with distaste coating his tone. 

“If you are going upstairs there needs to be two guards at your door, no exception. We can’t have anything happening to either of you.” Well to Mabel more like, as if he would ever hurt her with Bill Cipher or otherwise. Nodding in response Dipper offered his hand to Mabel who reluctantly accepted. She wasn’t scared was she? 

Pulling her along Dipper stopped at the two guards who joined him upstairs previously, “We’re going upstairs to my room and our parents have requested that two of you guys accompany us to stand guard. Would you be the ones to do the job?” 

“Sure, kid.” That’s all he got before they moved to lead the way back upstairs and Dipper pulled at his sister’s hand the entire way until they were in his room, and for the most part alone. It would be easy enough to talk quiet, after all those guards wouldn’t understand the half of what was about to be said. 

What took him by surprise was when Mabel nearly threw herself in the other direction when the door closed. She must think that he is Bill, and while the demon may be not far in the mindscape he wasn’t possessed. He’d just have to convince her. 

“Bill?” Bingo. 

“Not really, it’s still me- Dipper.” He moved to his bedside and stared down at his own bed, only a few hours ago there was peace and now it is nothing but trouble. The chaos still lingered in the air, as if it were a presence that tickled the skin of every person present and maybe they all breathed in irritation. Clearly he attracted it. 

She seemed to relax her stance and let out a sigh of relief, really if it were Bill what would he do? They held a deal and if she were hurt he would be sure to break it without a second thought, because that was his sister and nothing would touch her if he could help it. 

“I was worried, Mom and Dad were ready to turn you into the police for conspiring with Bill. I don’t know if they would, but we aren’t getting Bill back with you waltzing around scaring everyone half to death. What’s even with your eye?” She was rambling, but not in fright. Mabel was angry and it may be justified with the way he was acting around the police and his personal detective. 

He pointed a finger to his right eye, “That’s Bill. He’s about half here and half taking a power nap in the hospital. As of now he’s being accompanied by Gravity Falls police so he can be properly treated before shipment off to jail and eventually prison.” Falling onto his bed and turning his head to the window, which faintly resembled the demon’s triangle form, he spoke, “How long until they recognize him? If anyone figures it out they’ll try and kill him for what happened, after all you can’t put a man on trial for starting the apocalypse.” It would be the trial of the century, there has been nothing like it and never would it happen again. 

“You sound like him.” 

“That’s all you have to say?” Dipper laid there for at least a minute in silence before shooting up to look at Mabel eye to eye. “I brought you up here because the demon we are tied to is soon to be thrown in jail and we need to get him out. He isn’t powerful enough to just leave and make everyone forget he existed. He’s asking for our help.” I’m not asking, I’m demanding. He’s still awake, so it seems. Or at least he is still listening in on everything he says and does. “Bill wants me to rephrase it, he’s demanding our aid. So if you can think of anything I’m all ears.” 

“Dipper I don’t know, it would be dangerous with the police breathing down our necks. I get that we don’t have much time, but first you need to keep convincing that detective Bill is innocent. That’s the only thing I can think of right now.” She stops with a glare characterized with fear. “And Bill, your snide remarks are only digging the hole deeper. Let Dipper do the talking.” 

He found himself holding back a laugh, it didn’t even belong to himself. Bill found this amusing. Maybe he was finally getting himself together again, he certainly was starting to sound like the Bill he met their first summer in Gravity Falls. 

Kid, I never left. 

A chill ran up his spine, but it felt more like a hand running down the length of his spine. Likely that was Bill teasing him from afar, for it wasn’t hard to feel heated when the demon was in his mind. This didn’t seem like the helpless, hurt, and powerless demon that was here an hour ago. Still, he would stand by what he understood and protect Bill. 

“If we try to steal Bill back that will only add to the problems, Lilith will be troublesome enough. The best way to do this is to argue until they understand.” And she was right, as he took on Bill he was doing less of the talking. The eye was even worse, the detective liked eye contact and looking at him like this would delay Bill’s release. If anything it would endanger himself. 

With a blink it seemed Bill understood because Mabel smiled and gave the desired response, “Good, now as long as you’re honest and not so crude we can win this.” 

I can’t help you now, do good. Otherwise you’ll wake up to mass murder! Well if that wasn’t pure, terrifying pressure what was? At least Bill was sounding better. Really he should have apologized when he had the chance, despite this being somewhat out of his hands, but Bill was gone now and until they met again he couldn’t 

Unsatisfied, Dipper looks to Mabel with sunken shoulders while fighting to not collapse to the floor because, wow a weight was just lifted- when did that get there? Rubbing the palms of his hands against his tired eyes, heavy legs moved him to once again sit at his bed. 

“What do I even say? Bill is depending on me to fix this and I can hardly think of a way to quite literally defy the law which turns out how we want it.” More likely it’ll end them up further from Bill. 

Mabel still smiled at him and said, “Dipper, you’re smart. As long as you’re honest and yourself I think it’ll be enough. They’ll see that because such a good kid is vouching for Bill that maybe they’re doing the wrong thing. There’s no avoiding it, we’re getting Bill back at some point. We’re pretty much stuck with him right now.” That was true. “Maybe shed a tear or two and that’ll guarantee Bill’s safety.” 

For heaven's sake. 

What Dipper wasn’t expecting was for Mabel to run for a hug, completely taking him by surprise, which ended with them both laying on his bed and himself startled. “Mabel?” Really he didn’t want to ruin the way his sister gripped onto him and offered some sense of peace, because there she is still alive and still caring as is character of her. With unwavering determination she lay half on him and half on the bed unwilling to let go. 

“Sush, don’t ruin the moment.” Maybe he heard sniffles when she spoke and he might have figured out that she was starting to cry, but that wasn’t important. 

The comfort was nice and he was willing to lay like this for a good few minutes. Except Bill’s voice was still clear in his mind and looking over to the clock it became clear they had a deadline. He wasn’t going to doubt Bill’s ability to murder everyone in the hospital he was residing in and it best not be tempted. 

Shifting from underneath Mabel his nervous voice once more broke the silence. “I didn’t tell you this, but Bill kind of gave me an unofficial deadline.” She sat up and her smile was gone quick as lightning. Suddenly he wasn’t so keen on telling her that they could wake up to a rather unpleasant news report tomorrow if things didn’t turn out. “We should shoot for getting him out tonight, whether the police are on our side or not.” Maybe a visit to the hospital would suffice. 

Pulling him by the hood of his jacket Mabel was hiding any nerves she may have, though clearly shaken, and had him walking to the door unwillingly. “No hesitating, you better nail this or I’m going to be the one to kill you.” She was sarcastic but that didn’t remove the weight of what he was about to do and what it meant for their future. Mabel hadn’t stopped pushing until he was down the stairs and looking out at the, still full, living room. There was Mom, Dad, and the detective waiting for him eagerly. 

Cuffs sat heavily on the detective’s belt that weren’t there before and suddenly it was hard to breathe. Nope, time to go upstairs. Pushing past Mabel wasn’t an option however, as she shoved him forward and suddenly there was Detective Lawrence. 

“I was just about to send for you, Dipper.” He’d noticed the change, but Lawrence didn’t comment on it despite readily having cuffs to throw if need be. “I was wondering if we could continue where we left off?” Nodding tentatively one final encouraging push from Mabel sent him on his way with the detective. 

Once more Dipper found himself sitting at the kitchen table with the detective flipping through his notebook, finding an empty page, and eagerly ready to scribble down everything noteworthy. Despite not being long ago it felt like hours ago that he sat here and recalling the memory was difficult in ways indescribable. He was tempted to spit out a ‘so’ while waiting on the detective to ask his questions, but really what was the hurry when this could make or break the deal with Bill. 

“To start off I would like to concentrate on the first time you met Bill, if you would, do you remember approximate dates and what occurred during those meetings?” Well this was starting off interesting. 

He couldn’t help but pause, recalling the dates were easy enough. More like they were etched into his brain because with each time they met the worse his first summer in Gravity Falls became. “The first time was around the end of June, also all of these things happened our first year in Gravity Falls, which was about four years ago. He was-er-conspiring with someone else and we caught him in the act. Stopped him even. But I won’t say who it was, he was just a kid and didn’t know what he was doing.” 

“So Bill was messing with kids?” 

“God don’t twist my words, not like that.” Grimacing Dipper hadn’t entertained the thought that it could have sounded that way. “Bill was manipulative, someone like that kid was easily manipulated because he was power hungry. Not because he was young.” That’s all Dipper was going to say about that instance, otherwise it would delve into what had really happened. “The next time I saw him wasn’t much later, sometime in July probably, I was wondering around the forest outside of the shack. I was suddenly more interested in stories told about what happened in the forest and myths. None of it was real, but Bill offered to help me find the things I was looking for. He stopped me before I did anything I shouldn’t have.” Lies. It was hard to appear stoic because the image of Bill Cipher controlling his own body was clear as day. A few stray scars are scattered across his body because Bill didn’t know what he was doing and that simply ‘pain was hilarious.’ 

It was the idea of trying to explain the apocalypse, but not really, that strained him. He was spilling lies left and right, but having to come up with some story about the fact that Bill had enslaved the entire town and turning it into something innocent was nearly impossible. 

“Oh, I will say when we first met our great uncle Ford, which was closer to August, he told me a little about Bill. They knew each other well and Bill worked as Ford’s apprentice, or something of the sort, until Ford left.” He shouldn’t be pulling Grunkle Ford into this but stalling for time was all he had right now while concocting a lie that fit Bill’s reign of terror. “He never told me much beyond that.” 

The officer looked to be inquiring now that he paused. “How old was Bill when you met him? You’re still a teen, he can’t be much older yet he was friends with your great uncle before you knew him?” Now that was a simple enough question, nothing he couldn’t handle. 

“He was a teen when I met him, if I remember correctly he was sixteen when we first met. He was an apprentice more than a friend, like a student and teacher. Age wasn’t the issue, my great uncle left Gravity Falls before I met him or Bill. I didn’t know one existed nor did I know the other associated himself with my family member.” 

“Did you ever see Bill again after learning that your great uncle knew him?” And here it came, he shouldn’t lie but what was there to say? 

“Only once. Bill heard about Grunkle Ford’s arrival and he was excited. He visited the shack but I only watched from the stairs, I was shocked to even see Bill so close to home. I thought it was okay except they fought, argued until Bill stormed off and didn’t return for the rest of the summer.” He could see it, if Bill had a human form then, he would have sauntered into the shack and probably slung his arm around Ford while feigning friendliness to the man he deceived once. “When I asked him what happened, not mentioning that I recognized Bill, he told me that his friend had changed. That he wasn’t a good person anymore, so I believed him and didn’t wander too far into the forest believing that I would run into him if I did.” And why he hadn’t seen Bill up until now was to be left between his family and himself. 

“So when you brought Bill here two days ago, Ford recognized Bill not only from the news but also for who he was, correct?” He nodded but didn’t elaborate, there wasn’t much he wanted to elaborate on. Lying like this was digging his own grave. Would he even remember half the stuff he said? 

“Is that all?” Dipper wanted it to be all, maybe he could even bring up the idea of visiting Bill to the officer. 

Lawrence looked up from his notepad and it seemed the man had something on his mind. “Kid, listen. If Bill hadn’t invaded your school and by law committed abduction I might be able to say we could help him. It sounds like he’s done nothing terribly wrong in the past besides being human, which happens. But that still doesn’t explain why he did what he did.” 

Biting at his lip what came out was the first true thing he uttered since coming down here. “Bill was scared for his life, I have never done anything to patronize Bill. He felt he couldn’t trust my Grunkle Ford, chances are he didn’t know many people outside of my family in Gravity Falls. He came looking for my sister and I as a last chance of help. He didn’t just come to us because he got stabbed, he’s scared.” 

“What is he scared of?” Now that was something he didn’t wasn’t sure how to explain. Sure he could just be honest and break the ice, there is a demon coming after Bill who’s far more powerful than he has or ever will be. 

“The person who’s been doing this to him. The one who drove a knife into his stomach and sent him on his way.” Don’t ask for a name, please don’t ask for a name. 

“Has he told you who that is?” 

“No, he did say that if he went off to tell someone it would only make things worse. Given that he probably knows the worth of his life, he wouldn’t tell any of us.” Still lies, but if someone went off and asked Bill maybe he can use his blunt honesty to scare them off. 

The detective closed his notepad and Dipper took that as his moment to spring. “Detective, I know you may not believe he’s innocent but I know he’s done nothing wrong. Right now more than ever he’s probably scared and alone. You have to let me go see him, please.” 

Before Officer Lawrence had a chance to react Dad snapped. “Dipper, the police here have been lenient enough and you dare ask to see the man who kidnapped you? As your father, and as your mother will tell you, I am saying no.” He retracted back and his throat constricted at the raised voice. 

He stood and retaliated. “Have you not been listening to a word I said? Bill is not in the wrong, Mabel and I were willing. We’re trying to help him while everyone is ready to execute him, all I want to do is see him. He’s not our captor, he’s our friend.” 

“Mr. Pines,” at first Dipper thought it was directed at him but Lawrence had moved to step between him and his father. The fact that the officer was defending him at all was a chance for hope. “If Dipper so wishes to see Bill while in the hospital we can achieve to do so in a completely legal and safe way. As much as it may disturb you, it may get some answers from the accused party. While Dipper is still a minor, if I get approval from a family member I can permit it.” Grunkle Ford. Looking to the officer he almost wanted to smile, Lawrence was starting to understand. 

“Ask my Grunkle Ford, of all people he would understand what it would mean to say yes or no. He knows Bill, my parents don’t.” Suddenly his lies were heading in the right direction. 

“And you are going to sit in here with your parents, because if this does go to court the last thing you’ll want to be worrying about is fighting with family. Resolve this and then maybe you can visit with Bill in the hospital.” Without a word Dipper sat at the kitchen table, obedient and silent. 

Lawrence left and a few policemen followed him, but when his parents moved it was to sit on either side of him. Now was a moment he had wished Mabel still sat at his side, this feeling more like an intervention than a reunion. 

“Dipper I don’t-” It was his mom, but he was quick to block it out. 

“You don’t have to say anything, it’s clear you won’t understand what I have to say and that I can’t understand what you mean. It would be easier if you could just let me be.” He held back on the common phrase of ‘I’m an adult’ because saying that wouldn’t change that he was a kid to them. He’s too young to know a thing, according to his parents. 

“Now Dipper, that wasn’t what your mother was going to say. What we both want to tell you is that we don’t want to be fighting relentlessly. With everything that happened we should be understanding and glad that you’re alive and well. Of course we’re worried, that’s what parents do.” Well isn’t he a mind reader, they probably were talking about him when he was upstairs. 

He couldn’t say anything at that, it was just what he wanted to hear but that didn’t change that his parents wouldn’t be the one’s to allow him to visit Bill. 

“You still think Bill is evil, I can tell. But he’s not. If you hadn’t noticed he was recovering before you pulled him from bed. If I talked back to one of you with a bullet newly lodged in my shoulder would you still slap me across the face and ground me?” Not exactly the same, but a similar idea. 

His father frowned, “Dipper you can’t seriously expect me to answer that, it has nothing to do with what’s happened. You must understand why we can’t allow you to go visit him, he’s not safe.” 

“Oh, yes of course. Now it all makes sense! He’s not safe, a man cuffed to his hospital bed who was stabbed in the stomach and just had his right eye maimed is definitely not safe. I’m sure the officers watching him are shaking in their boots.” It was a step in the wrong direction but truthful as Mabel had encouraged. “This man asked for Mabel’s and my help both and now he has no one but police to look to, who would much rather throw him to the ground because he’s a criminal now. How can you not see he’s helpless? I even half convinced Great Uncle Ford who you’ve said you trusted since day one, so is he criminal now too? Do you not get what I’m saying?” When had he stood up? 

They were stunned silent, everyone who was watching now didn’t dare make a move or say a word. He had caught the attention of the entire shack. When his mom moved to his side Dipper first noticed how his body convulsed under her touch, how when she had wrapped herself around him in protection his limbs were weak and easily collapsed under their own weight. She whispered from time to time how it would be okay but never made him move from where he stood, even though she was the one holding him from falling. Mabel had entered the room but he didn’t hear her attempt to speak to him. She looked worried and at one point she mouthed something but if she spoke he didn’t hear a word of it over his heavy breathing. 

Since when had he become so worked up over this deal? Was it really Bill he was defending or the hundreds to thousands of people who may be at Bill’s mercy tomorrow if he doesn’t get to him? The demon was not innocent for the summer in which they met for the first time, but seeing Bill looked human was affecting him more than it should. 

“Dipper are you even listening to me?” Mabel was still standing there but now with a pout at her lips and hands sitting on her hips. 

“Now I am.” This frustrated her, even though it was to put on a show and she certainly had a laugh she was containing. 

“We’re going in an hour, get what you need ready and meet us outside ten minutes before. Okay?” He stood back looking between Mom and Dad before acknowledging Mabel in response. He was curious what they would do, except they both held that same grim smile and Mom let him go. 

“We’ll be okay.” Dipper said that to the both of them, passed with a hand resting on Mabel’s shoulder for only a few seconds and he walked upstairs. Now, what would it take to bring Bill back with them?


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School has been literal hell so forgive my tardiness, updates may be further spread out until homework decides to take a chill pill! Expect future updates every 2/3 weeks. Thank you for reading!

Packing stuff to bring to the hospital was hard not knowing what it may take to get Bill out. Dipper may not be able to give him anything that could either heal the demon further or wean him off the idea that he has to escape tonight. Only when Bill is thrown in jail could he say there was no chance of saving the people who are in Bill’s way. Assuming he has the strength and power to slaughter as he pleases.

It served quite well as a threat against him, so Dipper filled a bag thoroughly and prayed that by some miracle this might help them.

Walking downstairs, two officers always at his back, Dipper still had fifteen minutes but was eager to leave- early if possible. The same scene remained in the shack, many bored cops congesting the living room while others were talking to each other whether it be about the case or otherwise. However, Mabel and Lawrence were already waiting at the door and to his surprise his parents lingered opposite of his sister. Approaching them cautiously he didn’t have to speak, for his comprehension and questioning appearance seemed to reach.

His mom said, “We’ve decided it’s okay if you go to the hospital as long as we’re there, and Officer Lawrence as well. There’s going to be tight security so I can’t imagine anything can happen. We just want to be there for support.” With that they’ll be able see how he and Mabel act around Bill, this wasn’t such a bad thing despite initial shock. With a little acting this could work in their favor, and he could rely on Mabel to act over the top no matter what the situation. She clearly was already warming up to Bill so this might work out just how he wants it. “Okay, I’m ready when you guys are.” It was hard to mask his giddiness. 

A few confused glances were shared but he payed no mind to it, he had no reason to fight against them coming when he could still save Bill and innocent lives at risk. 

The car ride was silent with Mabel and him in the back seat of their parent’s car while being escorted to the hospital. He didn’t have any intention to speak until they arrived, but words were itching at his throat desperate to escape. Words of how he would tell Mabel everything on his mind, how he felt, and feared because this isn’t guaranteed to work no matter what acting he puts into seeing Bill. Likely they wouldn’t be able to get close to the hospital bed, no matter how sickly Bill was. He’s known since they made the deal that the demon is in no state to be causing trouble. Bill wouldn’t endanger them, except he wouldn’t accept being imprisoned by humans either. If they didn’t do their job slaughter promised red stains on their hands, knowing that the threat existed gave him liability. None of this was known by Mabel, not really, only he knew the press for time loomed over both of them. 

Once Dipper saw the inside of this hospital that sat on the outskirts of Gravity Falls familiarity sank in. The memory was vague but there, during a hunt in the woods Mabel was bit by a rattlesnake only to learn it was a Bull snake, probably, and was sent home that day with pain medicine and nothing else. The swelling did go down that night, proving the doctor right. In a few years the hospital lacked any change beyond the way people stared at their escort of police and the common whisper, “Is that the twins?” They never confirmed any of the questioning residents. Their parents walked behind while giving nervous glances, but Dipper never spoke to retaliate in fear of them retracting the agreement and fleeing.

Lawrence didn’t have to stop and ask for Bill’s room number, he seemed confident in where he was going. That brought on the question of if there are certain rooms or floors just for criminals, even though Bill isn’t a criminal and won’t be going to jail if he can help it. Just as expected two officers armed with large guns, nothing he recognized but loaded to kill, stood outside the door of Bill’s supposed room. After the flash of a badge they were able to enter, but not first without a rundown of the rules. 

“No crossing the line, do not give him anything- whether or not you think it can be used as a weapon doesn’t matter, they can be creative- and try your best not to taunt the patient.” It seemed like there should be more rules despite Bill being helpless and locked away to his bed. Without another word they all packed into the room, intimidation creeping in when passing by the tense, stoic guards. 

And there he was. Somehow he looked more frail than before, his skin deathly pale and face hollow. Despite being isolated away in a hospital room it seemed that the demon swiftly became worse- he barely looked there. 

“Geeze kid, tell me how you really feel. Nice to see you too, and I’d prefer if you didn’t stare at me like that, makes me realize how bad it actually is.” Lilith did this, yet there was no telling what had happened between the time they were separated and now, it was clear it didn’t matter if she had made an appearance. Bill still looked like he endured hell and that if he was forced into anymore uncomfortable positions it could mean complete collapse. Dipper hadn’t noticed his mouth was agape or that the attention of the room was directed at his stunned silence. 

“But you look worse than when you left, I’m worried. Not disgusted if that’s what you were thinking.” It was hard forcing himself to stay put rather than running to the demon’s side and fishing for information and ignoring every other person in the room. If he looked to his sister surely he would find the same struggle in her eyes and through tense body language. Or maybe she was better at hiding her emotions unlike how he’s proven himself to be an open book. “You look like skin and bones, they didn’t run a bus over you while I was gone right?” The playful banter was inappropriate here and now, but a lighter mood was something he desperately needed. 

“You don’t need to worry about me, yet.” The look in Bill’s eyes spoke a million words meant exclusively for him. Deviance flashed through as a threat of his abilities and how many bodies would scatter the floors if his freedom wasn’t granted today. Bill’s lip was turned down at the corner, he wasn’t expecting this many people in his company which meant no honest talking with either of them unless he was willing to risk exposure. Or a trip to the mental hospital instead, it would be hard to convince a group of humans that the man before them was a demon. Sure he could show them parlor tricks that were humanly impossible, but in such a devastated state he couldn't be sure there was room to sacrifice power. His ragged appearance sealed the deal, he looked too human to convince anyone he was dangerous. 

It might be smarter to take a different route as well, assuming it was possible to get Bill out and away from police eye. 

Mabel interjected, unsure in her stance and on what was okay to say. “We shouldn’t have to worry about you if you stay out of trouble. It’s not like you can do much, right?” He almost wanted to go to her side for comfort, but Lawrence stood firm on his left and held a hand on his shoulder. 

“You’re not wrong Shooting Star, I don’t seem to be going anywhere so what could possibly happen to me?” Raising his hands against the cuffs, Dipper could sense the sarcasm spoken just for them. 

Of course plenty could go wrong with Lilith lurking the corners and pulling strings that they couldn’t see or control. No one else in the room knew that leaving Bill here would be the equal of the twins not taking the deal in that forest- the demon would rot. It is no different than strapping the demon to an electric chair and leaving the room for whomever cares to switch the lever. Lilith must certainly appreciate what his parents have done for her, Bill wouldn’t try to escape with the publicity eyeing him at all times and little power to keep hidden. Then there was the question of why Bill couldn’t just leave the body? Why was this even a problem? Bill had another form he was happy in, though it didn’t look human, and Dipper could assume he occupied that form for most of his existence. Could Bill not summon back that form after what they did to him after that summer? These weren’t things he could ask with police looming over and he found that more frustrating than it should be. All of this was terribly infuriating. 

“I don’t recognize everyone here, I was barely anticipating visits so this comes as a surprise.” Bill stops and is looking at a figure behind him. “Except you, I definitely recognize you. You’re the brute who pulled me out of bed just to give me a beating, I’ll have you know that was unnecessarily rude.” He thought if Bill wasn’t restrained to the bed his dad might be returned the favor even if it didn’t help their situation. 

“The twins wanted to visit you, in fact they wouldn’t have it any other way.” Lawrence spoke up for the first time since they left. Though he didn’t realize it yet, interaction between Lawrence and Bill might just be the most important in getting the demon released legally. Somewhat legal, maybe they could barter into getting Bill home but that would be overstretching and asking for more than they could give. 

“Oh?” 

“Bill, if you end up in prison we can’t visit you like this.” Dipper couldn’t believe it, but it sounded like his sister was on the verge of tears when saying this. Was it an act?

Of course that won’t happen so long as the demon does get better, Dipper wouldn’t believe for one second that the demon would let that happen whether or not his health was in jeopardy. It would just be easier if they could get the police off their backs before Bill decides he doesn’t have the patience to wait. Yet he can’t help but wonder when the police are going to connect two and two, certainly if they have the footage of the school then they saw the fire. He was asked about it, but it was easy for them to deny anything when throwing out the card ‘we were knocked unconscious.’ 

Dipper took this as his moment to interject as Mabel was silent yet seemed to continue trembling where she stood and didn’t remove her gaze from his. “We promised help, and for now this is all we can offer.” He pauses when notices a slight twitch of change in Bill’s face that easily caused his heartbeat to stutter before flying out of control. The demon wasn’t showing it outwardly, but he could feel his anger flare. There was so much more he wanted to say but couldn’t. “I know things didn’t go as planned, but we’re doing the best we can.” 

“That’s an understatement kid.” Bill no longer held his facetious tone, looking more stressed or frustrated than anything. “But I appreciate your effort, and your company.” Maybe Bill was trying to sound genuine but the word almost seemed to twist the demon in knots and he spoke as if it hurt to say. Or at least he might be catching onto the fact that an emotional appearance creates sympathy that will only help his case. 

Bill’s gaze suddenly removed itself from where he stood and seemed interested in another person in the room, that clearly being Lawrence who stood behind him. “Don’t you look eager to speak your mind, officer. Don’t hold back, I’m sure you have plenty you want to get out of the way. I’m on the same page, I’d like to spend my time with the twins rather than with interrogation. So why don’t we get it over with, hm?” 

Lawrence looked surprised to even have Bill’s attention, but Dipper quickly realized that the officer was prepared to list off as many questions as he could. “Why did you take the kids from school, especially given that the kids vouch your intentions were innocent?” 

“I needed help snuffing out a threat, which included my health. Issue is places like this won’t ever be enough, I needed them here in Gravity Falls and I needed their help.” Bill looked bored unlike Lawrence who was eagerly listening and held his notepad out, looking more like a journalist than a police officer with such a spark in his eyes. 

“What is the threat? Why don’t you think a hospital can’t help you, or rather why not go to the police if your problem ended up with you being wrongfully stabbed?” Bill huffed, Dipper knew he didn’t really have a way to answer that question. 

“I’m not saying the hospital didn’t help some, these stitches are far more comfortable than what I got from Stanley. It’s simply that none of you can really help the fact that I’m going to be further pursued. Next?” 

“You have police protecting you here, no one can get in or out without my permission. I don’t see how you could still be in danger, and if someone were to attempt to come in we’d have surveillance capture their likeness and we could have the men outside stop them. I’d be more than open to keeping an eye out if you give me something to look for.” 

Bill was looking openly uncomfortable with the direction these questions were taking, but what came next Dipper couldn’t have predicted. “This isn’t what I wanted.” The first part was muttered but he caught it along with the distress Bill didn’t seem to be hiding in the slightest. “Lawrence, is it? I’ll answer all of your questions, but I want it to be just you and I. I could care less if you want to let the Pines family wait up for you to finish, but if you want answers I will only answer them one on one. How about it?” Lawrence didn’t hesitate to have everyone ushered from the room and Dipper couldn’t help the oncoming panic as he was forced back to the hallway. 

Mabel now stood at his side and shared his dread. They have no way to control what Bill would say and one wrong word could contradict everything he worked to keep Bill safe for now and possibly would have gotten him out. The clear door was shut leaving them unable to hear any words exchanged, watching would do them little to nothing and it made him ache to see Lawrence cross the line and took a chair next to Bill’s bedside. Dipper wanted to reach out to Bill and ask him, or yell, what he was planning or even just a hint of what he was telling Lawrence. He didn’t even know how, just a few hours ago Bill occupied his mind and there was little difficulty in speaking no matter what distance lay between them, but Dipper didn’t know how to react. No amount of struggle was going to give him the power Bill likely had. 

Moving slowly, pulling Mabel tandem, he sits on the bench right of his father. It was hard to notice that his parents were spooked when all he could think about was what Bill was doing on the other side of the wall. Dipper wanted to spill his worries to Mabel and as much as the panic had him fidgeting he knew saying the wrong thing would only add one more person with suspicions. Lawrence wouldn’t have suspicions after Bill, likely, told the truth. He’d just be disgusted. He did peak over when hearing his parents murmuring between each other, until now not considering that they saw Bill in a different environment. Something like that must be bugging the both of them, and seeing as both Mabel and him interacted they could be at a loss for what to think about the man. Dipper wouldn’t blame them for reverting back to the simple thought- ‘that man kidnapped my kids and that’s bad, he isn’t good.’ It’s natural and that’s something he should have considered first when accusing his parents. Refusing to realize that they just wanted to be parents did him little good, even if eventually he got the desired result of being here. It was almost comforting to know he could run in there if needed, that he could protect Bill when called on. But that never happened, it was silent beyond the background noise. Instead of letting his anxieties take over Dipper settled with leaving his parents to talk and leaning against Mabel for support. 

Letting the silence continue for a few minutes he finally asked the question that has plagued him since this all started. “Do you think we did the right thing?” Dipper didn’t try to hide himself from his parents who were not even feet away nor did he whisper, being secretive was becoming pointless. 

“I think we would feel guilty if we just left him there, I think we did bro bro.” Mabel sighed, content with her answer. “Besides, we would be going home if we just left him. I’m not ready to go home. I don’t know about you, but I’ve missed our grunkles and our friends. I like being in Gravity Falls.” 

“Me too, I guess you’re right.” 

She wasn’t wrong, that image of Bill stumbling and bleeding out in the forest wasn’t something he was proud to see. Leaving the demon there would have meant being responsible for a death, it was no different than holding the knife that slaughtered Bill. They were only doing their best now, and while that counts for something it wasn’t enough to keep Bill from the police. He wanted to think that maybe everything would turn out and they could do their job without hiccups, but with the obstacles of his parents, the police, and Lilith it seemed unlikely. 

At some point he fell asleep. When waking up Dipper found Lawrence leaning over him with a hand to his shoulder and something in his eyes that held more fear than any man should feel. “You can come back in to see Bill, and I will let you cross the line but refrain from touching him.” That was enough to fully wake him up, looking to see that everyone else had wandered away while he was snoozing. Lawrence stood back when he began to stretch. He’d expected the officer to make his way back to the doorway, but he stood there apprehensively. Raising an eyebrow Dipper stood as he was asked a question that reminded him just what happened while he was resting. “What have you done kid?” Frowning he moved his gaze to the floor and didn’t answer, shuffling to the room. 

Mabel was already at Bill’s side, but she was the only one. All attention was directed to him when he thoughtlessly crossed the chalk-drawn line and set himself in the chair, once occupied by Lawrence, at the bedside. Looking to the demon it was hard to figure out how to feel or act. Some part of him wanted to set a comforting hand on top of Bill’s, no one should have to go through something as frightening as this, but it could wait. No longer did Bill look ready to sink down into the bed and disappear, if you could call it a bed. Instead he was wearing a soft smile focused on Mabel who spoke things he couldn’t hear. Looking away Dipper found his parent’s gazes, which while they held forced refrain clearly showed fear. If he didn’t know better it seemed like they could burst at any second. That could easily happen, they had the right to be parents and decide what was good and bad when they are still minors. Even the several policemen, not including Lawrence, looked ready to pounce. None of them understood what Bill was, but Lawrence knew and he was calm. That was up for question as he was horrified seconds ago, but now he looked fondly upon the interaction between Mabel and Bill. 

“You decided to join us, sleeping beauty.” Oh, that was directed at him. Bill was looking to him and unlike how he expected Bill was seemingly cheerful. At least more confident if nothing else. He ignored the nickname for time’s sake, they were already breaking the rules and if interrupted all of them could be revoked of any visitation. That might not be a problem if Bill told Lawrence the truth. “Yes, I did.” It came with hesitation, because despite everything he still felt safer on the other side of the line. “You told him, didn’t you?” 

“Everything, yes.” There wasn’t a moment of hesitation or somber from Bill, as if doing that solved every problem they had. “Though he’s going to have a hard time getting the hospital to release me, we have the right to refuse medical attention, once we do that it’s a week of house arrest. My guess is under Ford’s care it’ll be much longer, but I need it anyways.” He must have looked as dumbfounded as he felt because the demon chuckled. 

“But-” He didn’t have a moment to speak before Bill answered all of his questions, which he didn’t even get to think up. “Under the ‘Law of Lawrence’ I’m good to go, he knows what he’s dealing with and is smart enough to get out of Oregon while he can. While I’ll have you keep his phone number, chances are after I’m settled at home he’ll be on a flight to the east coast. I guess I have that effect on people.” Bill seemed more than pleased with himself, but all he could worry about was how to explain to his parents that this guy wouldn’t be escorted to the local jail or continue on to prison like they probably still believe is deserved. 

“What about my parents? If they could they’d escort you to the county jail and watch you until a court day was decided. They’re not comfortable with the notion that you’re in the same town as us, but if you were freed we’d be shipped off to California or further away. I can only dodge their parenting so much.” Mabel didn’t seem bothered by any of this which was shocking on its own. 

“And yet you’re sitting right next to me, have a little faith Pine Tree. If need be I’ll coerce them, but you aren’t leaving Gravity Falls until our deal has been fulfilled. I do know that telling the truth isn’t the best route to take with them, but if it comes to it Dipper I won’t hesitate because for now you saplings belong to me.” Well that was one way to put it. Nodding slowly was all he could manage as his throat constricted and his heartbeat was picking up. Possessiveness certainly worked for Bill, even if he was the one under protection it still had him shifting in his chair and gripping at his sides. 

Looking for some distraction wasn’t hard when it came to Bill. “As much as I appreciate the nicknames sapling is where I draw the line, I’m not a kid.” He could bask in the fact that this summer they would be turning eighteen, except he found it hard to believe they could even finish the school year. This was one kind of roadblock that was trying to make life hard, and while he appreciated challenges this was not what he expected. 

“Hah, I think I deserve the freedom of giving you ridiculous nicknames given my position. Also I’ve been around longer than you’ll ever live, therefore kid and sapling are perfectly acceptable.” Bill stopped and looked him over, which caused some confusion on his part. “However if you keep growing I will admit sapling won’t feel right, you’re too tall for my liking.” 

“What, are you shorter than me? I never bothered to check, given circumstances, but I hope you know I won’t let you live it down if so. Every little victory with you is worth a million.” It was hard to help his grin but taking in every moment like this was dire when peace wasn’t going to be a common element with Bill around. 

There was a quick clank of metal and Dipper looked to see that Bill had pulled the cuff taut. With a huff he spoke with exaggerated frustration. “I just want to cross my arms and pout, can’t even do that. These things are terrible, why did man create something this stupid?” 

“To keep criminals from attacking.” Interrupting he didn’t expect this conversation to go anywhere but innocent fun. “I guarantee you every police officer in here has a pair on them, it’s pretty common.” 

“But I’m not a criminal, I’m a poor, injured Bill.” God the way Bill spoke at times made him sound more like a child than a century-old demon, even if it was in good humor. 

Dipper knew not to answer that seriously because if anyone was listening in on them it was already misleading enough, and leading suspicion on was not what he wanted. Instead he slumped into his chair and let his head hang over the back, as if this was the most comfortable place he could be right now. At some point Bill and Mabel had started talking and giggling together, but it was hard to care knowing that Bill would be fine now. Knowing Bill could leave was almost enough of a relief to allow him to forget everyone in the room and just let his lips run loose, to be able to talk freely with Bill was something he was yet to do. There was always someone listening who likely was ready to throw fingers and accuse him or anyone else in the room, ultimately it felt like his hands were tied behind his back. 

“So I did my part, right? You don’t plan on following through with that threat right?” The question bothered him still despite knowing before the night was out Bill would be back to the shack, where he would end up was a mystery in itself now that his parents are here and still heavily upset that any of this occurred. 

“If i did my health would have been threatened, it was just meant to scare you and look how far it got you! You got the dear detective to me so things could straighten themselves out, I have no intentions on following through with that in the near future.” With a smirk from the demon who now looked down at him exclusively Bill questioned, “How did you manage that, Lawrence seemed to fully believe I was anything but a demon. Did you lie for me?” 

“What else could I have done?” Frowning Dipper crossed his arms against his chest. “I made up a little story that only followed what I know about you, not including anything before Grunkle Ford. Also I probably made you sound more human, but that’s how I got us here so it doesn’t matter now. Anyways, since you seem to be so confident about getting out when do you plan to do so? I’d like a fair warning ” His parents could not see Bill being discharged, if they figured out that the demon wasn’t going straight to jail or being shipped to prison there was no telling how they could react. Without explaining to them what Bill is or why what happened was okay would only reach so far, there was still a desire for revenge from his parents. That couldn’t be helped, but if Bill was just to disappear they wouldn’t have to worry and everything could shift to a form of normalcy. It felt wrong to lie about something this detrimental when all they wanted was to keep their kids safe, but it was out of their understanding. Knowing this made for an arduous situation- Dipper just wanted to be honest and comfort his parents, but still needed to keep by Bill’s side. His promise of dedication can’t stray now, there is too much on the line. 

“Lawrence will leave the room in approximately five minutes for the doctor’s report, and depending on their answer I will either leave today or post surgery. Given that any major operations will be free of charge I might use them, Stan may have sutured my wounds but this should be better suited.” Bill paused in thought. “I suggest you and Shooting Star occupy your parents away from the Shack for a few hours- three would do- and after you may return home. If I’m not there, I rely on you to find somewhere other than the Mystery Shack for them to stay. Otherwise we risk the possibility of them seeing Lawrence drive me to your front door. It would be hard to explain that, don’t you think?” 

Without giving a response Dipper stood, crossing the line to approach his parents, and before speaking he silently beckoned Mabel to follow. 

“I know you guys don’t want to be here, why don’t we show you around Gravity Falls instead? The town is small but there’s plenty to see. It could put you at ease for the time being and we could get a bite to eat.” At least he could admit to being hungry, this day had turned out to be much more than expected. Sitting at the diner and just relaxing would be much deserved. So, with a nod to Bill he turned at his parents agreement and followed behind them. He wasn’t comfortable with leaving Bill alone, but for this to work he would need to let it happen. Not long before the demon was alone with the guards and doctors, this should be no different.


	9. Chapter 8

The light was harsh against his eyes in contrast to the rest of the mystery shack which was dormant unlike the bathroom where Dipper sat. He was too tired to let the image of Bill throwing up affect him, rather it was just a relief he prevented it from becoming a mess. Granted he had to haul the demon across the upstairs to do so. Pressing his palms against his eyes, his shoulders slumped when silence spread, and looking over he found Bill now leaning against the cabinet. It was possible the demon just lost five pounds, but it felt pointless to address that Bill had likely threw up his guts and instead entertained comforting the demon with some normality. For now there wasn’t much Dipper could do to stop what was happening to Bill, and distracting him from the pain seemed like the best choice. 

“Do you think you’ll be able to go back to sleep?” Dipper glances at his phone, “It’s three in the morning.” Wrapping his arms around his middle Bill shakes his head in response. That’s alright, chances are he wouldn’t be falling asleep anytime soon either. There was plenty on his mind on top of worrying for Bill. “How about we watch some movies to pass the time?” Before receiving an answer Dipper stands from his spot and pockets his phone, he already had an idea concocted since going downstairs wouldn’t be an option as most people were asleep at this ungodly hour. The chances of waking someone up was far too likely to risk it. However, he was more than used to being up at odd times and didn’t mind this in the slightest, it could even be said this was part of the deal- making Bill feel better both emotionally and physically. 

It was more difficult than he expected to move their beds to meet in the middle, he completely forgot about the nightstand and desk between them, but he managed it. “Don’t feel obligated to stay up if you get tired, but I’ll probably be up if you need anything.” After the beds were side by side Dipper grabbed his computer and headphones, opening it to Netflix. He ended up letting Bill scroll through the site for a movie, he’d seen most of the movies but chances are Bill hasn’t watched any of them, this resulting in first watching an Adam Sandler movie. At least it was a comedy, it might lighten the mood for the time being and it might just keep him up long enough to make sure nothing else goes wrong. 

Dipper may have pushed the beds together so they wouldn’t have to worry about squishing together in one bed, but at some point during the movie the demon had half his weight against him. It would be a lie if he said it didn’t take him by surprise, and it seemed out of character. This was Bill Cipher, dream demon and the one who had caused chaos in Gravity Falls his first summer here which didn’t fit the peaceful figure who curled against him for warmth. He shouldn’t feel relaxed around Bill, yet Dipper allowed himself to slump against Bill and let his guard down. He deserved this peace and wished it could stay, ignoring everything that has happened and simply living in the now. 

At some point Dipper dozed off and upon waking up he was reminded of the demon curled against him. His laptop was closed and set off on the night stand which he pushed off to the other side of his room last night. Though it was hard to convince himself to get up Dipper went to investigate and found a sticky note on the computer which clearly was from Mabel. For a moment he was distracted by the glitter glued onto the note and scattered on his laptop along with the stickers, drawings, and bright colors decorating the sticky note, but he set those thoughts aside and read the note. Still, he couldn’t help wondering how Mabel managed to fit that much energy into a sticky note. 

‘Come down for breakfast when you two sleepy heads are ready, or lunch. - Mabel’ When seeing the time on the clock was noon it was easy to see that his option would be the latter. Dipper was reluctant to disturb the demon, so instead he bided his time getting cleaned up and ready for the day. When it was closer to twelve thirty he decided it better time than ever to wake up Bill, his hunger was catching up on him. 

Nudging at his shoulder Dipper was surprised at how quickly Bill was awake. “Were you stalling? I’m a light sleeper- given I normally don’t need sleep. Next time don’t bother.” Pushing up onto his elbows Bill combed his hand through his hair and asked, “Why did you wake me up?”

It was hard to figure out if Bill was angry about being awake or if he was just indifferent, Dipper had become used to the demon’s extreme highs and lows. This new demeanor is far too in the middle for him to feel normal about all of this. 

“I wasn’t sure if you were hungry, and I thought it would help if you could try to eat, so I was going to help you downstairs. Only if you wanted to, of course.” Standing in front of the bed Dipper felt naked as Bill stared daggers through him. 

Bill reaches out with his hands and said, “My stitches aren’t completely healed, carry me downstairs.” Not even a please. With a huff Dipper walks over to the bed and picks up a light weighted Bill. It would never cease to surprise him how light weighted the demon is. With a smirk Bill goes on to further tease him as they walk down the stairs, “My prince charming, how could I ever repay you. I’d starve without your help. You’re so strong I just might faint.” Letting his head fall back the demon chuckles while Dipper looks at the man battling between flushing and utter confusion. 

Everyone else had moved on from early morning coffees and lazy moods to fully functioning, Mabel was nowhere in sight meaning the Mystery Shack was likely in full swing and open for the day. She liked to take full control so she can expose herself to running a business; Dipper couldn’t imagine his sister in any other position than the leader she aspires to be. Chances are she’ll end up off with the big whigs and scholars, being she’s smarter than she lets on. 

Stan sits at the living room couch and Ford is nowhere in sight. “I left lunch in the fridge, you lost your chance at breakfast. Grab me or Mabel if you need something, Ford is down in the lab I wouldn’t bother him.” Grunkle Stan was probably right in his suggestion, as there was no telling what Grunkle Ford was up to down there. Bill’s presence wasn’t a comforting spectacle for anyone and Grunkle Ford likely would do anything to get through his deal as quickly as he could. Ironically he might not have a large part in helping Bill out of this tight spot. 

Dipper sat Bill down carefully on one of the seats in front of the table and moved to the fridge. He had to force himself to ignore Bill when he made a sarcastic remark. “Aw Pinetree I can’t sit in your lap? I thought you might feed me, I was so comfortable in your arms after all.” Placing the plate in front of Bill he gave an annoyed glare and a quick “no.” 

“Aw don’t get your panties twisted in a knot I’m just playing fun. I’m genuinely curious what has the notorious Dipper Pines been up to since I left?” 

Looking up from his sandwich Dipper couldn’t help but chuckle, at least it was obvious Bill was feeling chipper today. It meant the rest was doing him some good. “You mean you haven’t been watching with your all seeing eye? Thought you knew everything?” 

Bill deadpanned, “I’ve been busy being dead.” The demon immediately relaxed as he continued to speak, “And I said I know lots of things, not everything. If I knew everything I would’ve succeeded in taking over the world. Huh, what a thought. You might be dead, the notion is almost depressing since you’re my life line.” 

Dipper almost choked on his sandwich at the blunt reminder of Weirdmaggedon. “Yeah, I can’t help but be glad I’m not dead.” He paused for a moment, hesitating to ask a question that was now itching to the surface begging to be asked. “If you had the chance would you do it again?”

The question clearly amused Bill. “I call that mess a tantrum at best, if I wanted to attempt that again I’d do it differently. There are more effective ways to take over the world all I have to do is be charming and I can have the world in the palm of my hand. With a little manipulation I can work towards a violent streak after I gain their trust. Jumping in head first was my downfall.” The answer was disturbing but Bill completely dodged answering the question and didn’t seem eager to. Dipper pushed further, “So? Would you try to take over the world again.” 

“Probably not.” The answer was short and put a frown on Bill’s face, clearly moving away from the topic would benefit everyone. 

They ate in silence and only when Dipper saw that the demon was finished did he speak again. “So you wanted to teach me magic to speed up your recovery. When will we get to it?”

Cocking his head to the side Bill answers, “I don’t feel like shit so what better time than now. I say we work on the back porch, I need some air but I assume we can’t have nosey customers interrupting my teaching.” Dipper didn’t hesitate to move forward. Nodding and scooping up the demon, who let out a quite squeal of surprise, he moved them behind the shack. Leaning Bill against the house’s beam and sat in front of Bill, eyes eager and unable to sit still. 

“You’ve always had potential for magic, I’m not sure if Sixer has ever hinted at that, but it’s one of the reasons I took to you. I knew I could use you, but that didn’t work out. We’ll work on channeling that power, so you can call on it when needed, then we can proceed from there. I’m still too weak to give a visual demonstration, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Bill paused, looking off at the forest for a moment before continuing, “To summon any kind of magic you must visualize it, and at such an early state it may be easier to close your eyes. I found it helps conjure up the image, but beyond visualizing what you want you also have to search for the source of your magic. It should feel like a well that rests inside your body, and you want to make it run through every part of your body.” 

Bill still appeared distracted as his eyes strayed to the forest, his fingers tapping mindlessly, and words drifted off. They sat in silence and Dipper was tempted to ask if something was wrong, but Bill cut him short. “Working with energy is simple, I want you to try and create a small fire in the palm of your hand. Similar to the fire I create when making deals.” 

Most of the demon’s attention had become occupied in watching the forest. His words were a lot to take in; visualizing what he wants, reaching inside for his magic, creating a fire- should be easy enough. The first task alone was intimidating enough, and somehow he would have to heal the demon with his own magic, the idea was farfetched. Searching for some form of support through Bill would be laughable, the demon couldn’t stay concentrated on him during his training and he hand’t started yet. He was at a lost as how he should approach magic when it was something he felt unable to associate with, as if it were an ethereal being. 

Believe it or not, sitting around contemplating whether or not doing what Bill asked was possible got him nowhere. The demon was still spaced off in his own mind and he was still mulling over his doubts, it shouldn’t be this hard to follow rules even if they were slightly abstract. He just needed to close his eyes, everything else would fall into place. 

Dipper found that Bill wasn’t far off when he called the source of magic a well, it was less so much that he could feel it but it’s presence was suddenly all he could sense. It was loud and chaotic, yet somehow detained to a small area before him. Unsure on how to make the force bend to his will, Dipper approached it with the tactic of imagining just what he wanted. The small fire that would sit perfectly in the palm of his hand, big enough that it would rise above his hand but controlled, warm but not burning. He imagined how the magic would flow through his finger tips and down to his toes, warming his insides and pushing against his skin. 

When he opened his eyes Dipper found the fire just as he imagined it, moving restlessly in his hand yet never breaking beyond it’s invisible barrier. It almost felt separate from himself, Dipper wondered how much control he really had over his magic when this small fire felt as if it could bounce off his hand and cause chaos to the trees and grass. 

Looking with wonder up to Bill he found the demon had a smile on his face. “I was right, you’ll be a natural.”

For the rest of the afternoon Bill had him working on how to control his magic, as just like he thought the magic was there but he wasn’t able to use it. It included, but wasn’t limited, to shooting fire at targets and creating things such as clothing and foods. Bill pushed for more and longer training, but Mabel eventually called them in for a snack. Dipper still couldn’t believe how far along he had went in his training, but it was the thought of using magic on Bill that scared him. Despite Bill being a demon, his body was too human for him to not be affected. 

They sat across from one another and collectively ignored the Mabel Juice sitting in at the table, instead drinking Pitt Cola and snacking on chips. Dipper couldn’t help but be glad Bill did remember how to do most things normally, contradictory to the image of Bill pouring soda over his possessed face and body when he was still only twelve. 

“The next time we work, preferably tomorrow, we’ll start deviating from basic magic and go into healing magic. That’ll take awhile because you also need to understand organics and magic within another person, how to manipulate it and what not. Then if you want to learn more after that, it will be unnecessary but I don’t mind teaching more. It’s something to do other than watching predictable human movies.” Bill breaks the silence and sets aside his own bag of chips, not appearing terribly sick after eating and drinking. “Once you’ve mastered the ability to manipulate organic magic, then we can work on the spells needed to restore my energy.” 

Setting his soda down Dipper leaned back in his chair and took a good look at the demon before asking, “I was wondering, is healing you only going to be half of the ball park? In order for all of this to stop, we’re going to have to stop Lilith somehow whether that be through killing her or finding a way to block her magic. I’m right, aren’t I?” It was strange how both displeasure and enjoyment seemed to cross Bill’s face within a few seconds when he said this. 

Bill hesitates before finding what he wanted to say, “She’s not going to be easy to kill, as much as I want to stomp her into the ground like a bug. Our priority if finding a way to block her magic, I can’t guarantee that I will be able to find a way to kill her. She’s bound to have a weakness, an achilles heal, given she was the first demon she can’t be perfect. However, she’s had more time than anyone to perfect herself and to mask her weaknesses.” 

Tilting his head lazily to the side and popping a chip in his mouth Bill lets his head lull back before speaking, changing the subject likely on purpose. “Hey kid, you’re parents aren’t going to show up again right? They aren’t going to knock on the sheriff’s door looking for me? I have to say it’s a relief to be out of that hospital, the staff was overbearing, but if your parents are still in town there’s a higher chance of me ending up in the slammer. They might be ones to talk, if they give my name to out to the internet things could get bad real quickly.” 

Dipper felt bad for the truth, but knew lying wouldn’t solve anything. “Yes there’s still in town, it’s risky but for now they refuse to leave.” Bill almost seems offended at something he says as he lifts his head to glare across the table. “You think I don’t know that? It doesn’t take being an all-knowing demon to guess they’re still here, I’ve seen human nature since it was created I knew what to expect. This is me telling you that if they don’t leave I want you to encourage they’re departure, or I will. Anything that happens to me because of them falls under your jurisdiction, figure it out kid.” 

No emotion crossed the demon’s face as he said this, his entire body seemed to stop and Dipper almost wanted to remind Bill to breathe. It was moments like these that reminded him who was sitting across the table, who he made a deal with and, until he could figure out how to stop Lilith’s attacks, this was who he was bound to. 

There wasn’t a moment when Bill wasn’t at his side, somehow having a demon in the household evolved from one person watching him at all times to ‘make sure Dipper is at least with him.’ The thought had him wondering what would happen if the demon snapped, seeing Bill in such a vulnerable state made it easy to forget what he’s done in the past. 

“They’re my parents, I only control them to a certain extent. If you hurt them I break the deal, no room for argument. I know they don’t really understand and will be hostile with you until they might understand, but as long as I’m hear they won’t see you or I’ll make sure they hurt you again.” Saying this didn’t seem to comfort the demon in the slightest. Instead he sighed, shrugged, and let his head lull back to hang against the back of the chair. 

Bill sure was acting curiously, it was difficult to compare how he acted just yesterday to now as he appears stoic and indifferent. “Are you tired?” Dipper asks this knowing likely he wouldn’t get a straight answer, but trying to reach out and figure out the demon anyways. 

“No, I’m bored.” Bill doesn’t move from his spot that looks disturbingly lifeless as he speaks, “Why don’t we watch another predictable human movie.” 

Dipper almost laughs, “Bill you can just call it a movie, even if a lot of them are predictable.” 

Standing to first throw away their trash when Dipper approaches Bill to help him up, Bill remaining remotely immobile, the demon reaches his hands out to be picked up and after lifting him bridle stile they end up in the living room. “I’m not hauling you upstairs if I can help it. What do you want to watch?” It was becoming clear that when Bill was going to be bedridden, he may as well consider himself the same as they would spend most of their time watching movies. 

Settling on watching a more uplifting movie, glad that everyone else was working or out busy as he found Bill in a similar situation as last night. While he sat slouched for the most part normally Bill laid resting his head in Dipper’s lap. Wrapped up in a blanket cocoon Bill stayed silent for the entire movie, only letting out a small laugh once in awhile or an annoyed whine when Dipper commented on how invested the demon was in the ‘predictable human movie.’ 

Towards the end of their first movie Bill fell asleep, so Dipper decided to spend his time watching TV instead of watching every movie from the past ten years. Given his lack of ability to move around or leave the house, it might slowly turn into marathoning movies and eating more than usual. He can’t even venture off into the woods now that he’s back, the main reason for that now sleeping in his lap. 

After some time of scrolling through local channels and settling on a channel showing college basketball for the rest of the day, it was better than watching movies all day- or however long he would be confined to the couch with Bill. 

About an hour in Dipper hand’t expected for Bill to wake up, or rather for him to wake up so early and in a panic. It nearly had him falling off the couch when the demon was throwing aside his blankets and scattering to sit up. Trying to come up with something that could scare someone like Bill awake was hard, yet the demon looked as if he’d seen the worse possible nightmare. He’d become sweaty, his eyes watered, and he was struggling to breathe. 

Putting a hand to Bill’s shoulder Dipper asked, “Hey be careful of your stitches, what’s wrong?” The demon retracted at his touch and looked at him like he was the devil, for at least a minute Bill was silent and still, leaving Dipper unsure of what to say. The demon was unable to create a full answer, stammering against quick breathes and clawing at his hair, trying to regain his grasp at reality. The only audible words Dipper was able to catch were ‘It was her’ before the demon was rambling in languages he’d never heard before, it had to be nonsensical. It only spiraled off further when Bill’s eyes turned red, no longer having a pupil which should be impossible. Any amount of trying to get to Bill failed as before Dipper could try anything he was passed out face first on the couch, body still convulsing and a black liquid leaking from the ears. 

Upon further investigation he found that it wasn’t just his ears, it fell down his face like tears and it looked like it wasn’t stopping. Positioning Bill across the couch and propping him up with a pillow ran to get help, supplies, or anything that would fix this. Shuffling for one of the kitchen towels Dipper nearly runs into a figure who is chest to chest with him when he turns around, he could see the rise and fall of their chest. It only took a second for the recognition to kick in, looking up he found Bill Cipher standing before him with the same red eyes and black goo painting his face. 

“Is that you Bill?” It was futile to even ask, chances are this wasn’t Bill and there would be no telling if he would get the demon back. 

Instead of an answer a hand gripped at his throat in a flash, but before Dipper had time to register the choking sensation his head was hit against the counter behind him. Everything around him went white before blacking out, not able to stay conscious long enough to feel his own body hit the tile floor while Bill stood above him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came back from the dead to post another chapter. School has been working me to death, hopefully I manage my time better so this can start moving along. The plot should start working it's ways in the next chapter. Much love~


	10. Chapter 9

There was no way to tell how long he’d blacked out, all Dipper came to know upon waking was his head was still tender and he couldn’t see anything through the white static. Movements slow, his hands reached out around him searching for solid ground and felt the tile floor beneath him and the kitchen cabinets behind him. Pressing his back against the solid surface no amount of rubbing at his eyes or head made the whiteness go away, though slowly he could make out the furniture across the room. It wasn’t comforting that through his limited sight he couldn’t find any signs of Bill or anyone near by. Dipper couldn’t believe how heavy his tongue felt, words caught in his throat and if he made any noise he couldn’t hear it. 

Dipper didn’t hesitate to stand when half of his vision was back, not minding the spottiness and forcing himself to stalk towards the open door despite his dizziness. Given that no one else seemed to notice the scene before him, Dipper took charge and stumbled down the steps to look for Bill outside. Outside, less than an hour ago he and Bill sat on their porch and practiced magic. It seemed like nothing, letting the demon sit out here on his own without any real restraints. No one was watching him, but now Dipper wondered if it triggered something that made the demon go rogue. He was stupid not to question the way Bill looked longingly out to the forest, he wanted freedom and relief from Lilith’s grasp. 

Maybe escaping to the woods seemed like the way to get just what he wanted, but that didn’t answer his question as to why Bill’s eyes bled a black substance and his eyes turned a red he’d never seen before. It wasn’t like the sudden glint of red that Bill’s eye flashed when he was taken away by the police while pushing the blame on him, even when he easily became confident in getting out. In the end it worked out, yet Dipper lost Bill again to something entirely different. 

The ringing in his ears wasn’t entirely gone nor was the nausea done sloshing in his gut, but Dipper still ran into the woods blindly. His only hint of where Bill had gone was the path of distressed brush which the demon likely distressed when stumbling out and away from the Shack. Where was he going? Eventually Dipper was reaffirmed that he was heading the right way as a black goo stained the forest floor which had to belong to Bill. He only worried that if it was blood how much had Bill lost? 

Upon coming to an opening of the trees Dipper saw a familiar head of blonde hair and he wanted to jump the man and hug him, as relief had never come so easily to him than just now. For a moment Dipper stayed in place and watched as the demon did not move, it didn’t look like he was even breathing. His relief was quickly being replaced with worry. “Bill? Come on we need to get back, are you okay?” 

He would have missed the movement to a blink of the eye when Bill twisted in an inhumane fashion to face him and a frown was placed on his expression. “I thought I got rid of you, brat.” With an effortless movement the demon flicked his wrist causing him to lift Dipper and fling him against a tree. 

By some invisible force he was held flat against the tree and forced to watch as through simple finger movements blood was spread across the floor in some kind of ritualistic shape. All he could think is surely this couldn’t be Bill, something else was possessing him. This would almost be ironic if it didn’t mean possible harm to either of them. His chest hurt too much from the impact to do or say anything in protest. Bill murmured words in another language before a snap of his fingers resulted in fire lighting up the shape painted out onto the ground. With it a black lump began to emerge from the ground, moving spastically in the center, and as it rose it formed a woman draped in a black dress with blonde hair and pale skin. She couldn’t have been older than thirty and as she ran her hands through curled long hair Dipper took notice to where her eyes should be there was only blackness, as if she had no eyes. 

“Finally, a solid form up here again. I’ve missed it.” Her voice was soft as she spoke to herself, and for a moment he couldn’t see anything harmful about the stranger. 

It was when he fell from the tree that his attention went to Bill who now lay on his side pushed up on his elbows with blood seeping from his mouth, which hanged half open while his eye lulled unfocused, but back to normal. The woman’s focus darted between the two of them before focusing on him, sending fear striking through his entire being. This was probably Lilith, the demon who was been harassing Bill. He has always seen Bill as all powerful, and now he was being faced by someone who held more power than him. Calling himself terrified was putting it lightly, all he wanted to do was escape but Bill was a few feet away from him half dead and he couldn’t leave the demon. 

As the woman stalked towards him Dipper wanted to yell for Bill, but his stomach was tied in knots and his head still hurt. His grasp on reality was probably about as good as Bill’s was, so all he was able to do was watch as Lilith stood above him and tugged him up by the neck. “I should just kill you. In the end it would have the same effect and I wouldn’t have to worry about you causing any trouble, but Bill likes you. I could use that.” Her words didn’t fully process as air wasn’t making it’s way to his lungs and he was still disoriented from blacking out. 

When she was done speaking he was dropped and Lilith disappeared, leaving Dipper with an underwhelming encounter in comparison to everything she’s done to Bill. Looking over to the demon he looked miserable and even found himself wanting to just conk out. Dipper was unsure how long he laid on the forest floor, falling in and out of consciousness. Mustering the strength to stand and walk towards Bill he found the demon was staring mindlessly in front of him and drawing circles in the grass. “Ready to go?” Dipper ended up carrying the demon piggy-back all the way to the shack, which he found much easier than previous methods given how much he’s been carrying Bill around. 

“Are your stitches open? You walked like half a mile, you haven’t been walking around the house lately so that can’t be good.” Dipper asks this, but he doesn’t get a direct answer. Instead Bill hums and lays his head on Dipper’s shoulder and his arms hug against his chest. Rolling his eyes Dipper hikes forward the rest of the way in silence. Hopefully there wouldn’t be blood on the back of his shirt when he got home. 

Upon arriving Dipper was surprised to see a closed sign on the Shack’s front door, pausing for a moment before shrugging and entering. Looking for signs of life he found everyone gathered in the kitchen, no one sitting and among scattered paper across the table was a bottle of liquor opened. 

Everyone was staring at him when he entered the room, and that wasn’t just his family but now Wendy and Soos joined the ‘club.’ While there seemed to be a spread of relief in the room only one person gave him any sign of a positive reaction, that of course being Mabel. Once he let down Bill and helped him into a chair she nearly caused him to topple over when tackling him into a hug. 

Dipper was hesitant to even ask why they all looked ready to slaughter the both of them. “How long were we gone?” When Mabel let go she hit him on the head, he winced but didn’t say anything about most of his head still hurting from Bill shoving him into the cabinets. He had no plans to tell them about Bill’s outburst at all, he just worried that they came to an educated guess about what had happened for them to leave the door open with no warning. 

Ford answered, clear anger seeping into his tone, “I’m not sure when exactly you left, once we saw the scene we waited an hour for your return and assumed the worst.” 

“You thought Bill killed me, you seem to forget that I’m the one who made the deal which is keeping him alive. If I died he would follow suit, I doubt anyone here would want to help him if I died as you would assume it was his fault.” Dipper didn’t hesitate in his retort. Bill added to his point by saying, “Also I lack half the strength needed to take Dipper out, especially after that incident.” The demon averted his gaze and gave a low whistle, clearly disturbed at the reference of what just happened. 

“What did happen? There was blood in the living room and kitchen. A lot of it.” Mabel asks this after putting the top back on the glass liquor bottle. 

Dipper was hesitant to answer, glancing at Bill before doing so. “Lilith was possessing Bill, this for some reason caused him to bleed from his face- so that’s why you saw the blood. He walked out so I went after him and before I could stop him, Bill had completed some kind of ritual that I assume gave her a body. She for the most part let us go, but made it clear she wasn’t done with Bill. All I could do was bring him home, I was roughed up a bit and she was gone before I could do anything.” 

“Even,” Bill entered the conversation no longer sounding tired, “if she gave you the chance to strike her it would have been as futile as when you tired to punch my physical form. You would have bounced back like the flee you are to her, she’s at the height of her power now with this physical form.” 

The room went silent for longer than Dipper would have liked it, guilt that shouldn’t really belong to him creeped up his spine. As if he could have controlled Lilith bringing back Bill and having an unrelenting grudge against the demon. But he did agree to the deal with Bill. 

“We’re just glad that you’re okay,” Stan says and takes a swig from his cup. “The both of you should probably get some rest, we can talk about this in depth later.” Setting his glass on the counter behind him reluctantly everyone but Wendy left the room. 

She took a inquisitive step forward and said, “Stan only told me about all of this today, I didn’t even know you were supposedly kidnapped until he finally reopened the Shack this morning. He didn’t let me come to see you either, said you were resting then sat me down and explained he was behind all of this. I never knew much about Bill, but what made you think it would be a good idea to trust him? The one thing I do know is he was responsible for endangering all of Gravity Falls and nearly killing us.” Her fists were raised and she didn’t seem afraid to say all this with Bill a few feet away. “I don’t understand. I guarantee you this will have repercussions.” 

Her glare moved to Bill and she was quick to put herself in front of him, never before had Dipper seen Wendy so angry. “And you,” she continued to lecture, “If you hurt Dipper I will never let it go, I’ll make sure whatever you’re going through right now doesn’t compare to the pain you’ll feel. If you hurt anyone you have me to answer to, I will personally stick you through the tree shredder, put you back together, and do it again.” Wendy grabbed Bill by the collar and lifted him out of his chair, but Bill didn’t show any hint that her words affected him. 

Grabbing her wrist and cocking his head to the side Bill spat back, “Red, pain is hilarious, but I fear I can’t take you up on that offer. However, if you touch me unprovoked again I will turn you inside out and send you on your merry way. I only practice solidarity towards the Pines, I have no obligation towards you.” Bill hissed when Wendy dropped him with a disgusted expression. 

Dipper suddenly realizes it would have been a good idea to add a no killing policy to the deal, but it was too late now. His nerves spiked when Bill signaled for her to come closer and he whispered words that made the ginger pale profusely. 

With a grin Bill waved a hand and cheerfully said, “Now skedaddle!” To Dipper’s surprise she complied and ran back to the shop. 

Glaring at the demon he asked, “What did you say to her? She is my friend you know, I can go back on my deal if you start terrorizing everyone you meet.” Bill is still grinning, though it falters for a moment. “Come now Pine Tree I’ve met everyone in Gravity Falls, technically. And what I said will stay between her and I until the day you die, which sadly for you won’t be anytime soon.” 

With a frown Dipper took a step forward, “Bill, tell me what you told her now.” This caused Bill to shift uncomfortably in his chair, as if he physically tugged on the deal and caused the demon discomfort. 

His smile falling Bill replies with a stoic demeanor, “I told the slut to keep her vulgar thoughts out of this house, and that if she thought of you that way again I’d skin her and feed her remains to her family. Everyone loves a good pork loin, or maybe a beef stir fry.”

Mouth falling open Dipper scolds, “Bill you can’t just say things like that, what the hell?” He pauses for a moment and tracks back, “What thoughts was Wendy having about me? Wasn’t she just being protective or…?” He trailed off clueless as to what Bill meant and handed him a washcloth to rid of the now dry blood that coated his face. 

Bill looked uncomfortable when answering and let his eyes fixate on his twiddling fingers. “She was physically attracted to you, if I weren’t in the room she would have and I quote ‘taken you against the wall.’ It was more vivid than I would have liked. She seems smitten with you now that you’re older, unlike a few years ago before your growth sprout.” 

Hearing that wasn’t what Dipper expected and he couldn’t help the blush spreading from his cheeks to behind his ears, and when Bill sees this he makes a disgusted face. “Ew, Pine Tree you can’t like her you’re taking care of me. I need all of your attention right now, no distractions.” Bill reached out his arms and Dipper couldn’t believe how ridiculous the demon sounded but still went to pick him up. “Can we go see Sixer, I’m curious what the old man is up to.”

Furrowing his brows Dipper offered, “Grunkle Ford doesn’t really like you right now, probably won’t for the majority of your time here. How about instead we watch some TV, or I could let you explore my laptop but I don’t think visiting Grunkle Ford is a good idea. Also I didn’t think you could read minds anymore.” 

Bill raised an eyebrow and answered, “I lost some of my powers not all of them, I’m not human yet Pine Tree but I bet you’d like me to be.” With a slap to his back Dipper yelps and Bill laughs and says, “Onward steed, take me to see Ford.” With a groan he moves towards the gift shop and waits for a moment when Wendy was the only one in the room to slip through and down to the basement. 

The visit went better than he could have asked for, his grunkle ignoring Bill for the most part and answering questions with short, concise responses. Though by the end of the visit Ford may have come to hate Bill’s voice with how much the demon harped on him for small talk. Dipper could only sacrifice pitiful glances Ford’s way when he found himself involved in the moment and did his best to separate himself by browsing his social media. 

They bickered on for a good hour before Bill nudged him and claimed to be tired, so they went upstairs and back to the living room. It seemed despite the later hour everyone else was still working the shack, so they once again got the TV and the living room to themselves. Luckily they bought more furniture as Ford came to stay, so even if they were interrupted it wouldn’t mean he would have to carry the demon upstairs. 

Upon sitting beside Bill he asks, “You know, by now shouldn’t you be able to walk around by yourself? I’ve only had one surgery before, but I’m fairly sure you should be able to-“ Bill interrupted him with a finger to his lips. “Pine Tree because you love me you’re going to stop right there, I’m not answering that question and you’re going to keep carrying me around for my health and safety.” Bill patted his head and relaxed against the couch, leaning his body towards Dipper once they both settled. 

It was nine in the evening when everyone congregated in front of the couch, completely blocking the television, the only one to sit being Stanley. Ford is the one who speaks to justify the interruption, “Who ever can explain it best, we need to know what happened in order to protect you both and for future reference when we have to face Lilith.” 

Bill frowned, “That’s probably me, but I’d like to comment that as of now no one is facing Lilith. It would be no different than picking a fight with your ‘God,’ in other words it would get you killed.” Dipper quirked an eyebrow when Bill did air quotes around the word god, and he conjured up a curious question that would have to wait for later. “And what do you want to know? I was awake for everything, just heavily possessed so I can give you everything you need to know.” 

There was a moment of silence as Ford pondered before answering, “I want a description of Lilith’s physical form, the ritual you used to create the body, and the location.” 

“I’ll write down the ritual and draw the sigil, Lilith is a blonde woman of twenty three, pale skin, wearing a black dress last we saw, and her eyes were originally completely black but the vessel has default blue eyes, and I walked half a mile east into the woods just outside the shack to a field. There should be a pretty clear path to the field after Pine Tree carried me back.” Bill lists off details he could have given, but writing out the entire ritual he couldn’t do given the fact that it wasn’t in english. Chances are it was some dead language that no one could identify except Bill. 

“Now,” the demon waved a hand, “Pine Tree and I were watching some TV so if you would get out of the way I might consider not plaguing your dreams tonight.” Dipper only glared, not saying anything in protest because he knew Bill has been sleeping and unable to go the mindscape. Throwing around empty threats that Dipper could see through was mildly amusing, so it was easy to let slide. 

Even if they knew or had the faintest idea that Bill was cut off from the mindscape they were still quick in moving away and Mabel went to grab one of her drawing pads for Bill. Dipper was almost surprised when everyone settled, Mabel on the floor and Ford and Stan sharing the other couch, as it wasn’t often that all of the Pines just watched TV together or relaxed together. 

Half an hour later Bill had him pass the notepad to Ford with the full ritual written out along with a large circle with different symbols that came together to be the sigil from the field. He only had a glance at it as Lilith grabbed his attention, but Dipper instantly recognized it. 

Ford was the first to go, leaving with his new information to likely spend the night researching the ritual and Lilith, then Stan retired, and Mabel was the last to leave them with a hug for Dipper and a pat on the head for Bill. “Do you want me to wake you up for breakfast, or should I be wary of another rough night?” Huh, Mabel must have heard their early morning fiasco of Bill getting sick. Looking to Bill in question he shrugged, “You can try, but I might just shove you off and sleep more if it ends up being similar to last night.” 

Turning off the TV and downstair lights Dipper carried Bill upstairs, reluctantly, and once he set Bill in their newly conjoined bed he asked, “Are you ready for bed or do you want to stay up a bit longer? I can probably find something to do.” Bill was looking up at Dipper from his spot and after thinking for a moment, as if this was a tough decision, he answered, “Come here Pine Tree I want to try something.” Bill sat up with his legs hanging off the edge of the bed and beckoned Dipper who cautiously looked over the demon before stepping away from his closet. 

“If you try anything I’m not carrying you around tomorrow.” The demon smiled but directed Dipper to stand in front of him. 

Dipper only had a moment to let out his gasp of surprise as it was captured by Bill’s lips, as he pulled Dipper down by the collar without so much as a warning. His eyes remained wide in surprise for a few moments as he was rigid, unsure how to respond, but it was when his mind melted at the warmth that Dipper gave in. Bill’s arms wrapped around Dipper’s shoulders and they deepened the kiss with a new angle and the demon went to nibble at his bottom lip. When Bill bit hard enough to draw blood he yelped in surprise and tried to pull away, but was held within arms length by the pair of strong arms behind his neck. 

“Glad to know I still hold some power over you Pine Tree.” The demon was smiling, far too pleased with himself as he massaged the back of Dipper’s neck. His expression turned far more demented as he continued, “I want to make something clear, you belong to me. Always have and always will, so don’t think you can go off and smooch some other girl you fancy just to leave me in the dust.” 

Dread ran cold through Dipper’s body and he almost wasn’t sure he should say anything to deny the demon. “Bill, what are you talking about?” His breaths were quickening, making it obvious to the both of them that he was terrified of what Bill could do even in his injured state. “I’m human, I’m not property. You can’t just own me, right?” He found himself bemused at the prospect of having to ask such a question. 

This caused Bill to chuckle and Dipper flinched when he brought a hand to his forehead, moving away the bangs to reveal his birthmark that he typically kept a secret. He certainly hasn’t told Bill about it before so it was surprising when the demon revealed it and pressed a gentle kiss to it. “You were made for me, you were made to challenge me, you’ve succeeded in humbling me. You’re the only human really worth my time, Pine Tree.” Bill cracked a grin but all Dipper could do at his words was blush deeply. It wasn’t butterflies stirring in his stomach but dragons upsetting his anxiety, still it was the best kind. 

“You’re not doing a good job at keeping me humble, you’re making me sound important.” Dipper gave a nervous laugh at his attempt of weak humor and the way Bill’s eyes seemed to sparkle made his knees weak. Bill removed his arms from Dipper’s shoulders and grabbed him by the hand pressing another kiss on his knuckles and said, “You are important, because you are mine.” 

Dipper couldn’t help tackling Bill onto the bed for another kiss, hand tangled in the blonde’s hair and the other entangled with Bill’s own hand. They only stopped to breathe quick reliefs between kisses, and the more they kissed the more Dipper wanted. He moved to kiss from the corner of Bill’s mouth to his neck where he licked and bit a bruise or two into formation, something he might come to regret in the morning. 

“Dipper.” It came out with a whine and Dipper couldn’t help but smile, he caused that. 

“Wow you know my name, that deserves praise.” Dipper responds with clear sarcasm before crashing his lips against the demon’s own. He fell asleep with Bill pressed against him, arms wrapped around the demon’s middle, and a relaxed smile ghosting his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick update before school starts off, Happy (late) New Year!


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, this story is still a thing...

They were graced with a week of peace, of waking up to lazy kisses and ecstasy before things began to stir. Housing a demon was bound to cause supernatural commotion, and Ford had taken precautions for just that but not for human intervention. Hours were spent each day lazing around the house or working on his magic with the hope of gaining some progress, and with Bill at his side that wasn’t hard. When considering magic there was no better teacher to ask for than the dream demon. 

They had become so comfortable that the notion of leaving Bill outside alone for a few minutes seemed like a mundane and okay thing to do. Dipper wasn’t expecting to walk outside to a porch lacking any signs of Bill Cipher. Even his snacks were nonexistent, it was as if the demon was never there before or he never existed. Circling around the shack and border of the forest it was clear that all of his hollering for Bill was amounting to nothing. 

It should have been obvious five minutes in that Bill would have been at his side already, but Dipper didn’t want to accept that the demon had disappeared without a fair warning. Still, he had to remember that this was Bill Cipher and chances are his brain wasn’t wired the same as everyone else. This was likely to happen eventually whether he liked it or not. Standing baffled on the porch it was only when Grunkle Stan approached him that Dipper was forced to accept what had happened. 

“Bill is gone.” Dipper’s voice sounded disembodied and showed the distress and panic that wasn’t illustrated in his expressions. “I searched the grounds, all over the Shack and then some.” 

It didn’t make any sense, Bill wasn’t in a well enough state to restore his old body and that was the only reason Bill was staying with them. At least, he was under the impression that maybe there was one more reason Bill was staying and that maybe he was enjoying it. 

“I know, I was looking for you. You need to see this.” Stan, restless on his feet, ushers Dipper to a scene deep in the forest. 

There was blood. Pools of blood and scorch marks litter the forest ground in what looked like a massacre scene without any victims. Strewn around the tree roots were clothes and if he looked closely enough scratch marks were dug into the ground. With the sun peaking through the canopy of leaves the scene was oddly moving, almost beautiful in a twisted sense. Dipper knew that Bill had been here and not knowing what happened was gnawing at his insides and his eyes were tearing up against his will. 

Clearing his throat Dipper had to choke through his speech, “We could take his clothing back and use a tracking spell, but there’s a good chance Bill left on his own accord. We know he’s capable of doing just that.” Trailing off Dipper moved to grab the hoodie, shirt, and jeans that were scattered about five feet apart from each other. 

Grunkle Stan spoke after a few moments of silence when Dipper couldn’t bring himself to move past the horrific sight, “Don’t worry kid, we’ll find him and make sure he can’t do anything like before again.” 

 

It wasn’t often that Bill had experienced pain like this, the feeling was something beyond the physical platform that would be tied to his human form. An ache twisted at the confines of his energy and soul, when Bill tried to scream he found there was an obstruction in the way and when he tried to burn everything within a hundred mile radius Bill didn’t hear the crackling of flames or feel the heat that might surround him. He was powerless is more ways than he cared to admit. 

While Bill had no reasonable idea who was behind his capture, the list of enemies running far too long given his amount of time spent causing chaos, if he had to guess per his location it was human. Gideon or the Northwests seemed to be credible suspects- yet his sight was failing him. 

Heavy footsteps stole his attention and dragged him into reality. 

Lethargy defined his movements as Bill attempted to role onto his shoulder but was unable to achieve much more than a shift in position. Instead the demon was lifted against his consent and moved to a cool, lifted surface and his arms were secured above his head and a heavy chain was attached to his ankles. Rarely has he ever felt so miserable, wishing he could send reassurance to his other half and found himself unsure of the next coming event. 

A familiar voice plagued his senses and cut through the silence, “Bill Cipher, I never thought I’d see the day when I would get my revenge. And when this is all over I can parade the towns with your head, Gravity Falls will rain their praise on me when they realize I prevented a second apocalypse.” 

Even as his blind fold was removed Bill’s eyes took a few moments to adjust and found that Gideon was unrecognizable in his older age. He didn’t hate the kid any less, more so upon being kidnapped in fact. There was no way he could voice his distress and reaching out to Dipper was impossible with his magic restricted, he found being able to see only hiked up his panic. 

It was proven that Bill had reason to panic, as Gideon muttered an incantation with a quick tongue causing his vision to redden and heat to erupt through him. Bill couldn’t be sure how much his body could take and this vessel was all he had. Pain allowed his muscles to awaken, yet despite his efforts to thrash and claw his way at Gideon Bill never once touched the kid. Murderous intent blossomed in the demon as discomfort and heat itched at his skin and impaired his senses. 

Gideon made a hand signal to an invisible figure somewhere behind and Bill found that he was stilled and the gag was removed causing a rush of oxygen to overwhelm him. 

“When I get out of these restrains make no mistakes Gideon I will give you a slow and painful death, and I will torture any family you have. You will regret threatening me, I can tear you to pieces.” Bill’s yelling was dismissed with a snicker from the other party as a rush of power ran through him causing more pressure and pain. “What do you mean to do to me? Make this vessel implode? I will live on without it, there is no connection between my soul and this body.” 

He knocks a rough hand on the demon’s chest and says, “This begs to differ Cipher. I have been planning years in advance for your return, I’m far beyond prepared. And no one would fight against me killing you anyways, you filthy demon.” 

Gideon was handed a long spear from one of the strangers in the room, all who wore non-conspicuous suits with no discernible features. Bill forced himself to disassociate from the body as it jerked in reaction to the sharp end digging through his shoulder muscles and shattering any bones in the way. A whine was all that Bill allowed to escape him when he felt the blood pool around the spear’s edge which remained as Gideon was given another. 

The second one caused a scream to escape. 

He was only given a moment of relief before what little healing powers he had went to work and attempted to heal around the spears, muscle and skin wrapping around the sharp edge and causing more pain to erupt through his body. 

Bill hadn’t realized how much the kid had grown until Gideon straddled him with a knife between his teeth, and with no shirt on this allowed Gideon access to Bill’s array of present scars and wounds. 

“You deserve everything you’re getting, you filthy demon.” Gideon spits in his face before moving to press the knife against his stitches, which were for once close to healing. With enough pressure Gideon undid his careful recovery in seconds. Pressing the tip into the raised line of skin and severing muscle the searing pain caused Bill’s stomach to churn and body to protest. No matter how much he would tug at the chains or pull away there was no escaping from the point of the knife. 

Even as blue flames scorched the ground around him Gideon didn’t relent. Bill would scream for revenge and his nails scratched at the ground for release, but with each minute came a new open wound that only scratched the surface. Gideon wasn’t allowing him the death that he found so tempting when under the blade. 

“Why don’t you cut an artery already, dig the knife into my heart and do the justice you believe is being served.” The demon had to stop short when he began to cough up blood, “When Dipper finds out it was you who killed me, I suggest you run for the hills before he gives you a piece of your own medicine. He will be set to kill.” With a sly grin Bill lets his head rest against the concrete floor, finding it was too tiring to engage any longer. 

What Bill hadn’t expected was with the moment he laid his head down a door behind him burst open, there was no subtly in those who came to aid him. Instantly he tensed with the knowledge that there was at least two guards in the room and he couldn’t tell if his savior was alone. 

Before Gideon could properly react Dipper’s entire weight pushed the kid from his torso and Pine Tree took special care to fight feet from where he was stuck. 

Bill strained to get his attention, “The key, get the key.” Behind him Bill could hear the valiant yells of Mabel and the Stan twins. How special that the entire Pine’s family came to his aid. That didn’t change that his still human vessel was bleeding out quickly and profusely. 

With a final punch Gideon was out cold and per his luck Dipper found the key in his front pocket, as Gideon was one often too cliche. Before the demon was given a moment to breathe outside the cuffs Dipper pulled out the two spears lodged in his shoulders and Bill found himself pulled tight against a heaving chest. 

A shocked part of himself couldn’t help but admit, “I thought I was going to die, I was ready to accept it but you saved me.” Bill’s shaky hands wrapped around Dipper’s middle and for a moment he was able to ignore the chaos occurring only a few feet away from them. 

“Just hold still, I’m going to heal as much as I can.” Dipper whispers this in his ear and seconds later a warmth he’s never felt before overwhelms his senses, once more Bill’s sight is overwhelmed but now all he could see is blue. Insecure fingers wrapped tightly in Dipper’s shirt as the magic tickled at his spine and flooded his insides, he definitely underestimated how quickly Dipper caught onto magic. 

By the time that the blue faded along with most of the pain he felt Bill was faced with Mabel, Ford, and Stan standing in front of three unconscious bodies. It hit him all at once that the Pines family did this voluntarily for him, while motives may be fuzzy and cause discourse among the four, they still saved him once again. It was making him want to feel trust and that thought alone allowed anxiety to flare up in his gut, he for sure thought he was going to be sick. This was too much, these were things he wasn’t supposed to feel. 

Bill tightened his grip on Dipper but stayed silent. 

Ford spoke up and this caused all of them to direct their attention at Gideon. “We need to interrogate the brat, figure out if he acted alone or if he was doing this for someone else.”

The kid was unconscious and bruises were beginning to surface. Serves the kid right, if the Pines family wasn’t here he would turn that brat inside out. 

“Bill you don’t have to stay here for that, I’m sure you don’t want to be around Gideon any longer.” Dipper moved to hold him at a distance and placed a hand under his chin, and Bill wanted to melt under that single touch, but along with several distractions a lack of pain allowed him to be properly pissed off at Gideon. 

“I’ll be fine, just hold me back if I get too murderous.” Putting his hand atop Dipper’s for a moment he stands to be faced with the image of Gideon being tied up in the chains originally holding him. Grimacing at the terrible irony the demon does his part and snaps the kid awake.

The moment Gideon opens his eyes Bill steps back, knowing that if he takes an active part in interrogating the kid he is more likely to react and slaughter him. There is no denying that if he were to kill Gideon that would heighten any suspicions the Pines and the town had while also taking away any trust Dipper had in him. Right now more than ever Bill needs Pine Tree’s trust. 

“Gideon,” Ford steps closer to the kid, “what in your right mind made you think it was smart to kidnap a dream demon, something that has the power to kill you with the snap of a finger.” Sixer technically wasn’t wrong on that part, but right now Bill lacked the confidence that he could actually achieve that. “Much less you tortured him, and if we weren’t here sooner Bill may have taken action.” 

Bill couldn’t help interjecting, “Jeez you’re making me sound like the bad guy Sixer, when I was the victim here.” He didn’t receive any response, but Bill knew what was going through the old man’s head in that moment, only confirming how little Ford knows about him. He decided not to speak again until Gideon was out of his sight. 

Stan speaks up now, Bill taking notice to the brass knuckles being showed off which has blood stains, and he couldn’t help appreciating the man’s hunger for violence. “What was your motive kid? This may be Bill we’re talking about and I’m sure we could all confess to wanting to do what you’ve done, but if you haven’t noticed the brat’s a little more human than normal.” 

“He means to bring upon a second apocalypse, I’m sure of it. He taunts higher powers and is wishing for the destruction of Gravity Falls along with the rest of the world. Bill is still the same power hungry demon and I have the power to stop him if you just let-me-out.” Gideon begins to struggle in the chains that wrap around his middle, making him appear ridiculous. 

Bill can’t help striding forward and grabbing Gideon by the collar, “Lilith is no greater power, she is a whore who can’t keep her paws out of my business and my town. Don’t think for a second anything she says is true, and I promise she thinks lowly of you. She has no qualms killing humans, she thinks of you people as nothing but insects.” His skin feels extremely heated and he finds it’s harder to breathe, “Don’t believe a single word that backstabber says to you.” 

Before Bill can land a single punch Dipper grabs him by the wrist and pulls with all his strength, which is enough to cause the demon to stumble back and into Dipper. He is seething with anger and in the moment snaps at Dipper much like a rabid animal, but is met arms enclosing around him. 

“You’re conspiring with Lilith?” Ford questions this, stupid human as if that wasn’t obvious the moment that rat opened his mouth. 

Gideon begins to rant on frantically, “Are you all crazy, to trust that demon is asking for the world’s downfall. Don’t be fooled by his human appearance or his shows of weakness, he’s brought chaos and death to Gravity Falls before. How do you know he won’t do it again?” 

It was only Dipper’s hand entangled in his own that kept Bill from acting. 

In the background Bill heard the collision of metal and skin and he couldn’t help smiling, and though every fiber of his being wished he was the one throwing the punches and destroying Gideon he could be satisfied with the Pines hurting others for him. 

“Answer me kid, are you working with Lilith?” Stan throws one more punch to the kid’s face before stepping back and waiting for an answer. 

“Yes, she told me about Bill’s plans.” The answer was desperate and came out with exasperated gasps of air, his body visibly trembling underneath the chains. 

Despite his fading control Bill spoke, “A word to the wise, kid, don’t trust demons. Most of us only know how to twist words and to lie” 

“Well what do we do now?” Mabel spoke for the first time, seeming visibly shaken by the violence against Gideon, “There’s no way he can let him go, not if he’s going to back to Lilith. But we also can’t just kidnap him, that’s crazy!” As she voiced her anxieties Bill mused at the notion that Mabel was swinging around that same grappling hook that she used her first summer in Gravity Falls. 

Letting going of Dipper’s hand Bill reluctantly stepped forward, “Even though I’d rather burn him from the inside out, I could try and erase his memory of Lilith and I. It shouldn’t be too difficult even with my power deficit.” 

With no objections Bill sat in front of the flailing kid while wearing an unimpressed expression. As if he could actually go anywhere, Gideon was a perfect example of how dumb humans could be. Forcing his hand against Gideon’s forehead he was able to encourage unconsciousness in the kid and delved into the surface layer of his memories. 

Sifting through the memories within the last few weeks each memory that even hinted his involvement was buried, as actually removing memories would cause mental consequences that he would be blamed for. Locking away memories was the best substitute and it required less power. 

And yet when he was done Bill found himself lightheaded and sporting a nose bleed. 

“Well I wasn’t expecting that little to take that much energy out of me.” Bill stands shakily and speaks outwardly, “We need to leave before he wakes up, don’t want to waste my magic by making it completely null if he sees me again.” 

When Dipper comes to his side again he is given Dipper’s hoodie, only now coming to terms with the fact that he was only wearing boxers, and guided out of the abandoned building. It was nighttime outside and Bill didn’t recognize exactly where they were, so it was appropriate to guess they were outside of Gravity Falls. Luckily they had come prepared and had Stan’s truck to drive home. 

Bill ended up leaning against Dipper inside of the rustic truck, sitting in between Dipper and Mabel, and feeling the relief wash over him in a second wave as the engine rumbled signaling that he was leaving that place behind. One of Dipper’s arms was wrapped around his waste while the other was tracing circles on Bill’s arm, giving the demon butterflies and the urge to get impossibly closer to his partner. No one dared to say anything, the radio the only source of sound beyond heavy breathing and passing cars. 

This singular moment made being human seem like a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments, kudos, and of course thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> This is unrealistic cause I don't think any school would allow this to happen, but it's part of the fic so shhhh. Thank you for giving my fic a look, the rest will be told through Dipper's eyes (mostly) and I'm hoping for many more chapters to come. This one I want to update every week, maybe more if I'm ahead, and most importantly I hope you enjoy!


End file.
